A third year of a research project on wild turkey survival will kick off in January and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is seeking landowners who will let birds be trapped and banded on their property.

Landowners in Region 4 may contact Karl Parker at 357-2154 with the Bureau of Wildlife in Schenectady.

“Wild turkey populations have changed dramatically in New York over the past decade,” said Department of Environmental conservation Commissioner Martens said in a release.  “This project will provide valuable information on turkey survival rates and harvest to help guide management of this important game species. I encourage landowners that have wild turkey on their property this winter to consider participating in this study.”

Over the past 10 years, wild-turkey populations have declined in many parts of New York State. To better understand the factors influencing population changes and how these changes affect turkey management, the DEC is beginning the third year of a four-year study. This project will provide wildlife managers with current estimates of harvest and survival rates for female wild turkeys, or hens, in New York and guide management efforts.

Beginning in January, the DEC will embark on a statewide effort to capture wild turkey hens and fit them with leg bands to obtain accurate data on survival and harvest.  A small number of these birds will also be tagged with satellite radio-transmitters.

All of the work will be done by DEC personnel on both public and private lands from January through March.  The research will be concentrated in DEC regions 3 through 9, across the state from the Hudson Valley to North Country and Western New York.

The DEC is looking for landowners interested in allowing birds to be trapped on their land, as well as alerting project coordinators when they see turkeys on their property on a regular basis.  Once turkeys are trapped and banded, they will immediately be released at the same location.
Not all locations are suitable for deploying capture equipment, so landowners should contact their regional project coordinator to discuss the suitability of their property. Observations of turkey flocks during January through March can be reported to the project coordinator for that region or can be reported using the Winter Flock Survey form found on DEC’s website at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/48756.html.