Scouting for Turkeys

March 29, 2009

Turkey season will be here soon so I knew I had to get out and scout some. At least that is what I told myself when the alarm went off a little before 4am. As I pulled out of my yard and headed towards Caswell County I was greeted with rain and knew that this rain would probably stifle the gobbling this morning. With a cup of coffee in my hand I parked on a logging road on our lease in Caswell with the rain still coming down. It was still dark just a little after 6 so I just rolled the windows down and sat enjoying my coffee and waited.
Around 715 well after daybreak I heard my first gobble of the season. He was way off on the Game Lands by the sound of it but good to know because I can access that area off our lease a bit easier then someone coming in on the Game Lands. My hope was his gobble would be the one to initiate others into gobbling. No such luck but he did sound off once more before the turkey silence kicked back in.
The rain stopped for a while so I took a walk into the woods to see if I could see any sign of turkeys. The woods are extremely wet after what has seemed as weeks of rain here. I did not see the usual signs of scratching in the leaves or any of the other tell tale signs that they had been in the area.
The rain resumed so I worked my way back to the truck spending the rest of the morning glassing fields looking for turkeys. Turkeys normally go to fields this time of year but especially when it is raining. I didn’t see a single turkey yesterday so I don’t know what to think. I’ve heard a few folks say that the turkey numbers in Caswell County have dropped while my experience seems to support that I could of just had an unlucky day of scouting.
I stopped briefly at the lease in Alamance County and had to hike into it because the road was so wet into it I’d of tore it all up going in and out. I discovered the calling card of the coyote in the middle of the road going in and can’t help but wonder what the impact they are having on turkeys and small game populations.

While I didn’t find much turkey sign today it was an enjoyable day in the woods. Spring is here, the redbuds are blooming and I even saw a dogwood in bloom a great time to be out in nature. We got a few more weeks till opening day so hopefully we’ll get the puzzle figured out so we are on the right spot on 11th of April.