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John's Journal... Entry 236, Day 4

THE TURKEY HATCH FOR 2004

Learn More About How States' Spring Turkey Hunting Will Fare

Editor's Note: Long rainy periods impacted the turkey hatch in various parts of the country last year. However, most sections of the Midwest experienced a positive turkey hatch. Several western states, including Arizona, California and New Mexico reported good turkey hatches. But if you want to know what you can expect this year when you go into the woods to hunt spring turkeys, check out each state's predictions in the Hatch Report this week.

New Hampshire:
New Hampshire had a below-average hatch for 2003. According to Ted Walski, a state biologist, the 2003 numbers of 2,581 turkeys harvested decreased slightly from the 2,599 birds harvested in 2002. The 2002 hatch already ranked below the long-term average. The excessive rains throughout the spring and summer resulted in the poorer hatch. Walski couldn't name a best or a worst region since the entire state had a similar hatch. Walski estimated that the state would have 2,000- to 2,600-harvestable gobblers for the upcoming season.

New Jersey:
Overall, the statewide wild-turkey hatch average in New Jersey rated poor for 2003, with a poor early hatch and a good later hatch. Tony McBride of the New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, reported the 2003 hatch worse than the 2002 hatch. Rainfall from late May to early July with unrelenting cool weather affected the turkey harvest, although some re-nesting did occur. The poor productivity of the hatch distributed evenly across the state. McBride estimated that hunters would have about 25,000 2-year-old birds available for harvesting during the 2004 season.

New Mexico:
New Mexico reported a good hatch for 2003. According to Larry Kamees, wild-turkey program specialist, "It appears this year's hatch was decent, although much of the state experienced drought conditions. Reports from most of the area Game and Fish offices appeared to be favorable, and limited surveys showed good poult production." The 2003 hatch ranked better than the 2002 hatch and also had a higher poult-survival rate. Kamees said that although drought conditions continued throughout most of the state, turkeys still had good production. New Mexico didn't have a great mast crop in 2003, but rains occurred at the right times, providing ample forage in the form of insects and forbs. Kamees received good reports from the Sacramento Mountains, portions of the Gila and the northeastern part of the state. Although Kamees didn't hear favorable reports from the northwestern region of the state, he said this didn't necessarily mean bad production, but just that hunters didn't see many turkeys. Kamees felt New Mexico would have a very-good year for turkey hunting in 2004, because the population had remained stable. "I think New Mexico will be looking at roughly 11,000 turkeys for next year, but this is a very rough estimation because we've just started brood surveys last year," Kamees comments.

New York:
Roger Sanford, a wildlife biologist for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, explains that, "The wild turkey harvest for 2003 was fair to poor in most of the state, which is down from what we've seen in the last eight to 10 years. Although there's a long-term average decrease, this year's hatch was slightly better than the 2002 hatch." New York experienced a large amount of light, but consistent rain this spring, especially the last 10 days of turkey season, which likely reduced the number of days hunters were in the field. Sanford mentioned the hatch varied across the state, but overall the eastern half of the state fared the best in 2003. Sanford couldn't make a 2004 turkey-hatch prediction at the time of this writing.

North Carolina:
The 2003 hatch ranked the poorest on record since North Carolina's brood surveys began in 1988 with only 1.6 poults per hen in 2003, a decrease from 2.3 poults per hen in 2002. According to Upland Game Biologist Michael Seamster, "unusually rainy weather and cool temperatures occurred during most of the nesting and brood-rearing seasons, which were most likely the cause of the poor productivity." All three regions of the state had a poor hatch, but the coastal region had the best hatch of the three with 1.8 poults per hen. The mountain region had the worst, with 1.4 poults per hen. "I would predict a reported harvest between 10,000 and 12,000 birds for 2004," Seamster says. "However, this includes more than just 2-year-old turkeys. It includes jakes and 3-year-old and older gobblers as well."

North Dakota:
North Dakota's hatch rated very good throughout most of the state's wild-turkey range. Lowell Tripp, upland-game biologist for the state, explained that the 2003 hatch resembled the 2002 hatch. North Dakota had excellent weather during the nesting and brooding seasons. Tripp named the Missouri River and the Sheyenne River regions as areas with the best hatch in the state, and felt that no places had the worst hatch. Tripp predicted that the spring 2004 harvest would increase from the 2003 numbers.

Ohio:
Dave Swanson, a wildlife research biologist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, reported Ohio's hatch as fair with 2003 up 10 percent from 2002, but still 36-percent below the 6-year average. Wet and cold weather in late May and early June contributed to the quality of the hatch. Swanson had no information to identify the best and worst hatch regions of Ohio. Swanson estimated that the state would have between 15,000 and 20,000 harvestable 2-year-old birds available for the 2004 season.

Oklahoma:
Overall, Oklahoma had another good-to-excellent hatch in 2003. According to Russ Horton, a state turkey biologist, the 2003 hatch appeared similar to the 2002 and the 2001 hatch. No catastrophic rainfall fell during nesting or brooding season, which contributed to the high-success rate of this year's harvest. Horton predicted the state should have another good hatch statewide in 2004.

Oregon:
David Budeau, of Oregon's Game Bird Program ranked the 2003 hatch between good and excellent. Overall, Budeau named the 2003 harvest better than the 2002 hatch, in part because the state had favorable weather conditions. "Oregon had a wet March and April, but relatively dry weather for the rest of the season, which made for ideal brood-rearing conditions," Budeau explains. While Budeau couldn't name the areas of the state with the best and the worst hatches due to unavailable information, he did mention that hunters harvested 4,093 turkeys with visible beards. Based on the excellent productivity in 2003, Budeau speculated that the 2004 hatch numbers would surpass the 2003 numbers.

Pennsylvania:
According to Mary Jo Casalena, state wild-turkey biologist, the state hadn't analyzed all the data yet, but preliminary results suggested a good hatch for 2003. The preliminary data showed the 2003 harvest lower than the 2002 harvest, but hunters had made 2002 a record-breaking harvest year. Cold, wet weather in late May impacted the success of the first hatch, but second nestings made up for a good number of the first losses. Re-nesting decreased from the first nesting possibly because many hens lacked the energy reserves to lay more eggs. Also, the harsh winter and limited supply of winter foods affected the hens' physical conditions. Since Pennsylvania doesn't have all the data analyzed yet, Casalena can't make accurate remarks on the best and the worst areas of the state for the hatch. But she can estimate on what the 2004 hatch will bring. "I predict an excellent 2003 spring gobbler season," remarks Casalena. "I think the spring harvest will exceed 40,000 gobblers, but I don't believe it will break the 2002 harvest record."

To learn addresses and Web sites where you can learn more about each state's turkey hunting seasons, go to www.nighthawkpublications.com/freetips/freetips18.htm.

TOMORROW: SEE TURKEY HATCH REPORTS FROM SEVERAL STATES

 

 

Check back each day this week for more about THE TURKEY HATCH FOR 2004 ...

Day 1 - The Spring Forecast
Day 2 - What to Expect This Spring for Spring Turkey Hunting
Day 3 - More States' Spring Forecast for Turkey Hunting
Day 4 - Learn More About How States' Spring Turkey Hunting Will Fare
Day 5 - See Turkey Hatch Reports from Several States


John's Journal