And so the Fat Lady sings...............

Old Cut LongPointer

Well-Known Member
Looks like Tag Soup for me this year. I am going to get out with the 22.250 as my coyote sightings this year are up and they may explain the drop of birds in my area. I received my reminder from the MNR to submit my report regardless of success ; so don't forget !
 
Same here, first time in probably 20-25 years! Had some action but numbers appear down. Plus the buggers just would not come to me, except for one. 2 birds came in although I was only aware of one until the other one stepped out from behind a tree 10' in front of me, saw me said " holy sh** a human" turned back behind the tree and took off before I could react and get a shot off. TC
 
Numbers are down in the area I do believe. Most guys I talked to struggled this year where they normally kill their two in the first two weeks. I found the birds moved around A LOT compared to previous years. Never used the same roost twice. Took me 33 days of 3am wakeup calls until I tagged out, two or 3 days a week I did an extra afternoon shift as well. Shot a nice Tom on the 11th at 6:07am and finally got a big Jake on the 27th at 3:08pm after a few mess ups and close calls on my part earlier in the season.
 
I only tried once
Was a busy month..
heard them never saw them!
Oh well, always next year!
 
Hey there Going on Line ! Tag Soup is what you get to eat because you didn't bag a turkey. At least these new paper tags break down better than the old plastic ones(always got heartburn from them) the new ones are more creamy. LoL !
 
I got my two the first week but think I was lucky. I live in the middle of great turkey habitat and am always watching for them. I think numbers are certainly down. I am not seeing nearly as many as I did five or six years ago. I have also been doing some reading and listening to turkey hunting podcasts. It seems they are in decline across all of eastern north America. In some parts of the SE USA they estimate they are down 60% from their highs there in the late 1990's. Lots of speculation of why but no hard conclusions. It seems they are like a lot of species dropped into new areas. Even though they were native here a hundred years ago when they were first moved here they behaved like most "invasive" species. Predators were unfamiliar with them and unskilled in hunting. They had wide open resources and room to expand and food was plentiful. They experienced a population explosion but over time nature kicks in and things start to get more difficult for them. In the USA it appears populations peaked about 15-20 years after reintroduction then declined to sustainable but not big numbers. It makes sense to me the same thing it happening here now. Introduced in late 80's and 90's peaked in 2010 or so and now are declining to a long term population average. Of course every year is a bit different with weather and there will always be ideal habitat hotspots that hold lots of birds but we may have seen the peak of turkeys across southern Ontario a few years ago. Many jurisdictions in the SE USA that use to have 3-5 bird limits have now moved back to 1 or 2. Some no longer allow harvesting jakes.
 
Very weird year. I was able to connect on two in Ontario and two in West Virginia so good season, but the birds were just not cooperative at all for me. Even soft calling would send them the other way on many days. I still have my cellular game cameras out and just this morning I have a "hen assuming the position" and inviting breeding for a group of 3 long beards strutting out front of her. Id have thought wed be seeing poults here shortly and here's an unbred hen? Population seems OK in the areas I hunted, around Lake Erie and closer to Hamilton, about the same as last year. Further north at my deer camp near Sebright they are just gone, vanished, no trace. Coyotes and raccoon population up there exploded a few years ago (When you see 14 coyotes opening day of deer, before noon, you have an explosion, and we cant shoot them in my unit due to some BS about the Algonquin red wolf which is rubbish)

Onwards to Quebec for Bear and pike and hopefully by then the walleyes are showing around Nanticoke.
 
Saw a very sad sight yesterday. In the bean field south of my house three mature hens were picking around. I got out binoculars and watched them closely for a good while. Not a poult with any of them 😞
 
Saw a very sad sight yesterday. In the bean field south of my house three mature hens were picking around. I got out binoculars and watched them closely for a good while. Not a poult with any of them 😞
What I found odd was my friend and colleague told me that the other day he was walking his property and started going threw some thicker areas and a big takes off and flys up into a tree, he looks where it come from was sitting on a nest of eggs…
This was just the other day which I would think is very late!
And would imagine a hen would of given up on a dead nest by now
Usually we see them tending nests at my buddy’s farm in May
 
I read somewhere that different types of birds only need to mate once but can if need be re-nest up to 3 times.

Mother Nature's back up plan ?
 
Yes I listened to a very interesting podcast about turkey reproduction. The hens have an internal organ which holds sperm alive for quite some time. When she has an egg ready to be fertilized her system open ups connecting ducts and the first sperm to make it up to the egg is the lucky Dad. She can produce a brood with only one breeding but would prefer to be bred multiple times even by different Tom’s because the liveliest sperm is an indicator of how strong the chick will be. Nature is amazing!
 
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