HARRISBURG, PA – The Pennsylvania Recreation Fee’s two-month survey on wild turkey sightings has ended, and individuals are inspired to report their July and August sightings by way of Monday, Sept. 5.
Reviews should be filed by way of the Recreation Fee’s web site https://pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/TurkeyBroodSurvey. The cell app is not accessible.
Individuals ought to report the variety of wild turkeys seen from July 1 to Aug. 31, together with the final location, date and make contact with info if company biologists have any questions.
Please notice, your particular location info is NOT shared or saved; it’s used solely to assist decide the county, township, and Wildlife Administration Unit (WMU) of every sighting.
“The turkey survey, which is a part of the Nationwide Standardized Brood Survey, enhances our company’s inside survey, which serves as a long-term index of turkey copy and is utilized in our turkey inhabitants mannequin,” defined Recreation Fee Turkey Biologist Mary Jo Casalena. “By reporting all turkeys seen throughout every sighting, whether or not it’s gobblers, hens with broods, or hens with out broods, the info assist us decide complete productiveness in every WMU and examine long-term turkey reproductive success throughout the nation,” she added.
Many components have an effect on wild turkey productiveness, together with spring climate, habitat, earlier winter-food abundance, predation, and final fall’s harvest. Climate throughout Pennsylvania throughout late spring and summer time 2021 have been comparatively heat and dry however different by WMU, in addition to the opposite components that have an effect on copy. For instance, WMUs that skilled the 17-year Brood X cicada hatch tended to have glorious recruitment. These included components of WMU 2C, WMUs 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B and 5C. Cicadas are a wonderful supply of protein for turkeys and predators that may in any other case prey on turkey poults.
This above-average statewide reproductive success final summer time (3.1 poults per hen), coupled with extra conservative fall 2021 turkey looking seasons (shorter seasons in most WMUs and elimination of rifles) resulted in larger turkey survival into the 2022 spring breeding season. On the WMU stage, reproductive success in 2021 improved in 15 of 23 WMUs in comparison with the earlier three-year common. It was much like the earlier three-year common in two WMUs (2F and 4E) and was below-average in six WMUs (3A, 3B, 3C, 4C, 5D and a slight decline in 2D and in comparison with 11 WMUs in 2021).
“Bear in mind, each summer time turkey-sighting reported to the Recreation Fee helps to enhance wild turkey conservation within the Keystone State,” Casalena emphasised. “Since public involvement started in 2016, the variety of turkey sightings reported every year have doubled. Public participation enhances our company’s inside survey by growing the pattern dimension and offering broader protection of turkey reproductive success throughout all WMUs,” Casalena added.
MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau – 717-705-6541
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