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Spring Turkey Take by County

As described in DEC's Wild Turkey Management Plan (PDF), 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 DEC 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.

Annual Comparison

New York State Estimated Wild Turkey Spring Harvest 2011-2021

The estimated wild turkey harvest for spring 2021 was 16,892 birds. This is a 21% decrease from spring 2020 and is below the 10-year average spring take (about 19,600 birds). The decrease in harvest observed in spring 2021 is likely due to a decrease in hunting participation compared to 2020 and poor production during summer 2019.

Roughly 80,000 hunters went afield in spring 2021, compared to 94,000 the previous year and an average of 89,000 per year over the past 10 years. The relatively high participation rate and effort observed in spring 2020 was likely linked to an increase in hunters' free time due to the response to COVID-19. An increase in turkey hunting participation and effort in spring 2020 was observed in other states as well.

Some of the decrease in spring harvest from 2020 to 2021 can be attributed to a decline in turkey abundance compared to last year. There is a lag between turkey reproductive success and spring harvest two years later as hunters prefer to harvest toms (2+ year-old birds). With poor production observed in most regions of the state in summer 2019, we anticipated that the spring 2021 harvest would be below average, and this was the case.

The top five counties for estimated harvest were Steuben, Delaware, Chautauqua, St. Lawrence, and Oneida counties. The estimated spring turkey take decreased from 2020 to 2021 in 79% of counties, was similar between years in 14% of counties, and increased in 7% of counties open to spring turkey hunting.

There was one hunting-related shooting incident (HRSI) during the spring 2021 turkey season. This is the same as the previous year and slightly below the long-term annual average (2 HRSIs per spring turkey season). HRSIs are preventable if hunters follow the four rules of firearm safety: (1) treat every firearm as if it is loaded; (2) keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot; (3) always be aware of your muzzle and keep it pointed in a safe direction; and (4) be aware of your target and what is in front of and beyond it.

New York State Estimated Spring Turkey Harvest
County 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Albany 301 298 305 358 298 211 215 210 230 213
Allegany 527 436 531 425 351 453 432 410 598 481
Broome 315 353 421 412 379 275 326 356 359 268
Cattaraugus 588 744 827 619 477 545 524 519 727 567
Cayuga 462 581 543 497 473 347 344 315 272 184
Chautauqua 928 1,071 1,143 790 569 713 763 632 909 656
Chemung 215 190 222 269 193 262 195 210 291 191
Chenango 490 612 553 537 489 401 562 478 524 434
Clinton 134 182 206 188 179 190 287 280 396 294
Columbia 394 365 525 461 433 286 206 302 411 286
Cortland 298 466 450 292 307 178 282 277 274 200
Delaware 600 817 981 952 737 585 659 666 808 667
Dutchess 396 398 421 418 454 283 345 331 407 302
Erie 600 685 655 432 314 519 372 362 431 390
Essex 117 198 216 193 181 203 271 213 317 236
Franklin 132 179 174 179 210 195 315 248 374 303
Fulton 109 177 164 139 170 194 248 153 201 164
Genesee 181 215 206 133 126 174 174 164 170 159
Greene 285 264 338 399 337 243 281 250 241 257
Hamilton 62 96 78 52 60 53 114 43 117 79
Herkimer 379 442 392 371 338 340 557 355 599 397
Jefferson 575 675 589 501 500 499 683 595 876 595
Lewis 254 371 363 196 237 327 368 306 416 298
Livingston 296 275 373 321 294 349 320 253 395 291
Madison 425 437 518 348 433 293 387 296 393 318
Monroe 325 314 245 224 202 219 163 208 298 249
Montgomery 268 290 363 311 329 302 320 252 252 206
Niagara 248 270 149 148 152 186 148 165 205 165
Oneida 474 627 733 499 420 525 791 589 834 606
Onondaga 510 685 712 577 448 347 399 397 380 306
Ontario 448 456 608 400 421 457 348 315 489 316
Orange 460 461 582 603 538 369 373 331 390 309
Orleans 115 125 128 96 91 110 102 95 92 88
Oswego 534 532 562 479 404 607 280 359 416 370
Otsego 620 723 877 766 650 480 647 622 627 439
Putnam 83 96 122 157 108 84 100 91 85 55
Rensselaer 286 410 417 497 467 313 375 325 420 370
Rockland 17 17 11 53 33 25 20 21 15 11
St. Lawrence 494 637 684 494 629 584 906 675 940 634
Saratoga 258 316 373 308 300 295 423 385 426 365
Schenectady 81 91 122 119 80 92 61 85 74 95
Schoharie 359 367 424 543 486 396 371 325 372 378
Schuyler 222 185 249 154 163 210 209 148 250 180
Seneca 178 169 186 115 112 199 116 141 136 97
Steuben 781 729 894 673 616 661 689 676 786 743
Suffolk 53 73 40 46 53 42 54 34 103 124
Sullivan 394 358 453 458 390 306 271 298 287 325
Tioga 406 348 355 245 301 270 355 325 306 213
Tompkins 362 382 366 317 323 245 300 285 285 200
Ulster 450 446 313 433 360 295 330 260 361 253
Warren 68 96 121 86 95 111 195 75 166 126
Washington 433 545 690 613 647 530 570 630 636 558
Wayne 383 447 399 306 337 448 252 291 279 251
Westchester 44 67 64 31 64 43 39 39 38 46
Wyoming 278 318 286 311 340 344 316 206 372 315
Yates 343 408 481 296 324 279 221 206 325 269
Total 19,038 21,515 23,203 19,840 18,422 17,492 19,074 17,078 21,381 16,892