With the area’s wild turkey inhabitants booming, wildlife officers are once more asking residents to report sightings because the state screens the inhabitants and estimates the autumn harvest potential.
Every yr from June 1 to Aug. 31, wild turkey stories from the general public assist MassWildlife biologists decide the inhabitants’s reproductive success.
Wildlife officers are on the lookout for wild turkey stories from all areas of Massachusetts — from essentially the most rural communities to extra densely-populated areas like Boston and Brookline, the place turkeys at the moment are noticed regularly.
“As we’ve seen over the past couple of decades, turkeys are becoming more and more common in suburban areas and now in urban settings,” MassWildlife Turkey Project Leader Dave Scarpitti instructed the Herald, noting that the turkeys are discovering meals in these areas.
People can report sightings of hens (feminine turkeys), poults (newly-hatched turkeys), jakes (juvenile males), and toms (grownup males). The state’s survey asks for the sighting date, location and variety of turkeys.
“It goes a long way to helping us keep our finger on the pulse of the population and the success of their reproduction,” Scarpitti mentioned.
“We want to get a better idea of what that reproduction looks like for the fall season,” he added. “If there are significant declines in the population, we would want to adjust our harvest regulations.”
The state’s wild turkey inhabitants has jumped exponentially because the Seventies when MassWildlife biologists trapped 37 turkeys in New York and launched them within the Berkshires. The new flock grew, and by the autumn of 1978, the estimated inhabitants was about 1,000 birds.
As extra birds moved in from neighboring states, turkeys quickly ranged all through most components of western Massachusetts. Then the wild turkeys continued to develop their vary into central, northeastern and southeastern areas of the state — and as we speak, the wild turkey inhabitants is estimated at between 30,000 and 35,000 birds.
MassWildlife officers warn individuals to by no means intentionally feed wild turkeys, which is able to appeal to them to their property and preserve them round. Turkeys can survive very nicely on pure meals, and don’t want handouts from individuals.
Also, if individuals come throughout aggressive turkeys, they need to not hesitate to scare or threaten a daring turkey with loud noises, spraying water from a hose or swatting with a brush. A canine on a leash can be an efficient deterrent.
For extra info on the state’s annual wild turkey survey and to report sightings, go to www.mass.gov/info-details/summer-wild-turkey-survey.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”