MO-NWTF Technical Report

January 7, 2021 Report - Reina Tyl

GEORGE CLARK MISSOURI STATE CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION

Board of Directors Meeting – January 7, 2021 – Technical Report
Reina M. Tyl
Resource Scientist
Missouri Department of Conservation

2020 WILD TURKEY BROOD SURVEY RESULTS

The Department has been conducting a Turkey Brood Survey annually since 1959. During the survey, Department staff and citizen volunteers record turkey observations during June, July, and August. Data are collected at the county-level and analyzed by Turkey Productivity Region, which are counties grouped by similar land cover composition.

The 2020 statewide poult-to-hen ratio (PHR) was 1.0, which was 11% greater than the 2019 PHR and equal to the previous five-year average. However, this year’s PHR was 17% lower than the 10-year average and 29% lower than the 20-year average. Regional PHRs in 2020 ranged from 0.7 in the Ozark Border, Ozarks West, and West Prairie Regions to 1.4 in the Northeast and Northwest Regions. Compared to the five-year averages, production in 2020 was higher in the Northeast, Northwest, and Union Breaks Regions and lower in the Mississippi Lowlands, Ozark Border, Ozarks East, Ozarks West, and West Prairie Regions. Production in the Lindley Breaks Region was equal to the five-year average for that region.

At the statewide scale, 38% of hens were observed with a brood, which was up from 34% in 2019 and was 11% greater than the 5-year average. The percentage of hens observed with a brood ranged from 29% in the Ozark Border Region to 50% in the Mississippi Lowlands Region. Statewide, the average number of poults per brood was 3.8, which was up from 3.7 in 2019 and 2% greater than the five-year average. The average number of poults per brood ranged from 3.2 in the West Prairie Region to 4.3 in the Mississippi Lowlands, Northeast, and Northwest Regions.

We’re always looking for additional people to participate in the brood survey, so if you know of a friend or family member that would like to participate, please have them provide their name and mailing address to wildturkeymgmt@mdc.mo.gov with “Wild Turkey Brood Survey” as the subject.

2020 FALL FIREARMS TURKEY SEASON SUMMARY

The 2020 fall firearms turkey harvest total was 2,125, which was 9% greater than the 2019 harvest total. The top harvest counties in 2020 were Greene (70), Maries (58), and Franklin (55). Regional harvest totals were: MDC Region 2020 Harvest totals were:

The increase in harvest during the fall firearms turkey season can largely be attributed to an increase in hunter participation in the form of permit sales. There were 12,329 fall firearms turkey hunting permits sold in 2020, which was an increase of 34% from the record-low 2019 permit sales total (9,195).

2021 SPRING AND FALL FIREARMS TURKEY SEASON DATES

Spring Youth Season: April 10 – 11, 2021

Spring Regular Season: April 19 – May 9, 2021

Fall Firearms Season: October 1 – 31, 2021

There are no changes to bag limits for the 2021 turkey hunting seasons.

NORTH MISSOURI WILD TURKEY RESEARCH PROJECT UPDATE

Work has begun on the next north Missouri wild turkey research project—Factors Influencing Wild Turkey Nest Success and Poult Survival in Northern Missouri. This five and one-half year research project is a cooperative research project with the University of Missouri and will cover 4 nesting and brood-rearing seasons. Hens will be monitored for productivity and poults will be monitored for survival. Wild turkey nest and poult predators will also be monitored for occupancy and density.

Our collaborators at the University of Missouri have hired a PhD student—Alisha Mosloff—to lead the first half of this research effort. So far, Alisha has coordinated and led a captive poult study at the MU South Farm to determine the most effective method of radio-transmitter attachment to turkey poults. After completion of the poult study, Alisha acquired three heritage-breed domestic turkey hens & placed GPS-ACC-VHF transmitters on the hens. Alisha and MDC staff have worked to record over 40 hours of video of the hens performing various behaviors. By matching the video up with the timing of the accelerometer (ACC) data collection, we will be able to develop a roadmap for translating ACC data into known behaviors. When we deploy these same transmitters on wild turkey hens, we will be able to determine when, where, and how long the hens are foraging, walking, loafing, etc. This will help us determine how wild turkey hens are using various habitats, which will be important for evaluating resource selection and brood-rearing habitat quality.

Alisha and MDC staff have also been working extensively to contact landowners in Putnam County—where field work will be taking place—to secure access to their properties to conduct research activities. Many landowners in the area are excited about this research effort and have been very cooperative.

Over the weekend, Alisha and MU Research Assistants, Trevor Lindsay and Megan Kruse, moved into the field house east of Unionville in Putnam County. They have been working to get equipment ready to start trapping wild turkey hens. The trapping season will run through the end of March.