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Spring Turkey Take by County

As described in DEC's Wild Turkey Management Plan (PDF) (290 kB), DEC has changed the way that seasonal turkey harvest is reported. In the past, DEC only summarized the number of birds actually reported by hunters. Now, the Department reports an estimated total turkey harvest based on surveys of approximately 12,000 turkey permit holders after the close of the hunting season. This results in a calculated harvest based on estimated reporting rates. This provides a more accurate harvest estimate and a more realistic assessment of the status of New York's wild turkey populations.

Estimated wild turkey harvest during spring 2012 was about 19,000 birds, well below the five-year and ten-year averages (about 29,500 and 30,300 birds, respectively). This is an increase of about 2% from spring 2011. The below-average harvest the last two spring seasons is likely due to poor production four of the past six years, and severe winter conditions in 2011-12. Improved (but still below average) production in 2010 and a mild winter in 2011-12 likely contributed to the slight increase in harvest from last year. This is also reflected in the age ratio of the harvest. About 72% of the birds harvested in 2012 were adult males or "toms", compared to 67% in 2011 (indicating improved production from 2009 to 2010).

Spring hunting participation declined for the third consecutive year to about 89,000 hunters for the 2012 season. This is below the five-year and ten-year averages for spring hunting participation (102,000 - 103,000 hunters). Hunters may be responding to fewer birds on the landscape the last two years, but warm weather and an earlier-than-usual leaf-out during May 2012 may have discouraged some hunters from going afield. Despite the decline in participation from 2011 to 2012, the take/100 days effort increased 9% from 3.3 to 3.6 birds.

The top five counties for estimated harvest were Chautauqua, Steuben, Otsego, Delaware, and Erie (see the table below for the full list). We observed an increase in harvest in just over 40% of the counties open to spring hunting, a decrease in almost 1/3rd of the counties, and about 1/4 remained unchanged from 2011 to 2012.

Youth Hunt 2012 - the ninth annual Youth Turkey Hunt was held April 21-22, and was once again greeted with enthusiasm by young hunters and their adult mentors. Almost 7,800 junior hunters harvested about 1,900 birds. This is twice the harvest observed during the 2011 youth-only hunt and is likely due to several factors including good weather in many regions, and more birds on the landscape due to improved production in 2011 and a mild winter in 2011-12. Junior hunters and their adult mentors met with success in 55 of the 56 counties open to the youth hunt.