Peak Season for the Beak: Wisconsin's Wild Turkeys

Mornin' to everyone in denial that it snowed in northern Wisconsin this week. Welcome to the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

What we're gobbling about this week

• Turkey-filled days ahead 🦃 

• The bizarre hiking tip that could save your life 😇 

• Hunters -> mentors: DNR asking for help! 🦌 

WI: Land of the Green Bay Packers, cheese, and - wild turkeys?

This time of year, we all start getting a little birdy.

And not like your college roommate who came back from study abroad with that rare pigeon disease - we're talking Thanksgiving birdy. That's right, although Halloween is technically the next upcoming holiday, we're kidding ourselves if we're not thinking of that delicious turkey on the table (as long as Dad isn't in charge...)

Alas, we as a country will consume 46 million of these critters come Thanksgiving next month. And while we know it goes great with Mom's famous stuffing, few think about this big bird beyond the food coma it puts us in every November.

Wisconsin's wild turkeys

• Wisconsin is home to about ~350,000 wild turkeys, ranking #3 (source depending) in the nation

• Last spring's turkey harvest increased 5%, indicating a thriving population

• Two turkey hunting seasons available - one in spring, and one in fall (currently underway)

Wisconsin's claim to feathered fame

Step aside, whitetail deer - today we're discussing the second-most popular critter in these parts: the wild turkey.

Ya may not know it, but wild turkeys are about as plentiful in Wisconsin as 'you betchas', waves from strangers, and brats at a tailgate. In fact, we're hailed as #2 in the nation for where turkeys spend Thanksgiving each fall.

If ya add up all the Toms (males), Jakes (adolescent males), and Hens (females), the wild turkey 'flock' numbers around 350,000 in WI.

Last spring, turkey hunters registered 39,007 wild turkeys during the 2022 Wisconsin spring turkey hunting season, a 5% increase from 2021. Statewide, hunters filled their tags to the tune of a 17.7% success rate, compared to 16.9% in 2021.

TL;DR: Paired with increased harvests in other nearby states (MN, IL, and MO), and it appears the midwest's wild turkeys are thriving, calming fears that there would be a decline in population of our feathered friend.

Conservation success (once again)

But turkeys have had a bit of a fowl past here in WI.

In a classic story of the pre-conservation movement, we depleted this great natural resource through agriculture, over hunting, and lumbering, down to the last turkey (killed in Darlington, WI in 1881).

Figuring that Mom's stuffing was pretty useless unless we had something to stuff it into, we attempted (in vain) to rebuild the Wisconsin flock. Like the Chicago Bears, it failed repeatedly.

That is, until we traded some grouse for a batch of turkeys from Missouri in 1976. Low and behold, them buggers got to gettin' to know each other, and soon we boasted one of the strongest flocks in the country.

Heck, we even have two different towns in the state claiming to be 'Turkey Capitols': "The Turkey Capitol of WI" in Baron, and "The Turkey Hunting Capitol" in Boscobel.

Facts to gobble up

So by now ya gotta be wondering - what in the hey is so great about these birds that occasionally break into apartments, resulting in a chase by police officers (great quotes in this video, by the way).

Besides providing us something tasty on Thanksgiving, Turkeys are a carefully measured and conserved part of the food web.

Though they're not able to fly very far (less than 100 yards), turkeys roost in trees each night to keep away from the bobcats, foxes, coyotes, and owls that hunt them. 

Despite a sparse diet of bugs, nuts, fruits, and seeds, turkeys can grow to upwards of 20 lbs (though the largest turkey ever shot in Wisconsin was 34.5 pounds - holy shnikes!).

If you take a gander of these beasts in the spring, you may see the males puffed up, tail feathers erect as they strut in hopes of attracting a female. Keep those windows open come spring! Those in the countryside can hear gobbling in the wee hours of spring mornings.

Looking to fill your freezer with a gobbler? You missed the deadline for this fall's hunt, but if you get your turkeys in a row and apply before Dec. 10th, you can hunt them in the spring. Read up on a fellow hunters' success in the field to get you inspired.

The folks at the DNR have some nifty info on management and hunting to get you started. If you know a neighbor, friend, or family member that suffers from Turkey Fever, be sure to ask them for some pointers!

Now get out 'der!

NEW: Wiscampsin Weekly Poll

Answer to last week's poll (How did the "Driftless Area" get its name?): Lack of glacial drift! Kieran White and 121 others that got it right - nice work. Now go get yourself some custard.

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

👣 Take me home, country road...: West Virginia's K-9 Search and Rescue shared a hiking tip that might just take you home - alive and in one piece. Next time you're going out on a solo excursion, lay a piece of tinfoil on a towel and step on it with your boots. Leave it in your car, and if you get lost, SAR teams can use it to track your boot prints. Neato! Now, queue up that song...

🦌 Pass it on: Are you an "experienced" hunter? Do you enjoy getting out in the woods AND doing some good? Then shucks, you're in luck! The DNR is asking for 1-on-1 mentors to grab a novice this fall and show them the ropes. Don't worry, you don't have to be a "successful" hunter, Uncle Joe!

🍁 Free State Park passes: Starting Nov. 1, various Wisconsin Public Libraries will be offering free state park passes to card holders to help people get out der. Better return that overdue book, first.

Meme of the Week 😂 

A review from the Trail... Gah, just doin' our job to help you get out der!