[Bristol-Birds] Greene County leads region spring turkey harvest.

From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:51:54 -0400
Greene County in Upper East Tennessee had a spring turkey harvest of 896 birds 
this year and was second in the state to Maury County which was again the top 
county with 949 birds being harvested. 

Tennessee turkey hunters again posted another successful spring season as the 
harvest for 2011 nears 34,000 as reports continued to trickle in to the 
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The spring turkey statewide season came to 
a close on May 15th.  The harvest number stands at 33,968. The harvest is below 
the 2010 record harvest of more than 37,000 birds, but this year's total ranks 
as the state's third highest all-time.

Meanwhile, Scott and Grayson counties in Southwest Virginia were among the top 
10 harvests in Virginia this spring.  Scott County hunters took 317 which was 
slightly down from the 2010 season harvest but was still the seventh largest 
county take in the state.  Grayson County, which finished ninth best was up to 
272 birds taken and was an increase over last spring's 254. 

Virginia's spring turkey hunters reported harvesting 15,689 birds during the 
2011 season. The statewide harvest was 3% higher than last year's total of 
15,190 birds. Counties east of the Blue Ridge Mountains increased 3% with a 
harvest of 10,441 birds compared to 10,130 birds last year. The harvest in 
counties west of the Blue Ridge (5,265) was 4% higher than last year's take 
(5,054). Most (85%) of the birds taken were adult gobblers. Forty-six bearded 
females were harvested. Overall, the spring harvest suggests a stable or 
slightly increasing turkey population.

Based on the Department's 2010 Spring Gobbler Hunter Survey, Virginia's hunting 
effort declined in 2010 due to the recession. Cooperating 2010 hunters 
indicated they hunted 23% fewer times on average due to economic concerns. 
Although hunter effort during the 2011 spring gobbler season is unknown, it is 
likely fuel and other economic concerns again contributed to reduced hunting 
effort. Assuming effort may have again been negatively impacted by economic 
concerns, the increase in the spring harvest was indeed encouraging. Many 
hunters checked birds in excellent condition, with weights exceeding 25 pounds 
reported. Last year's exceptional mast crop likely resulted in birds being in 
excellent physical condition. Energy demands from the winter weather were 
likely below-average because of last winter's relatively mild weather.

"It was another strong year for our turkey harvest," said Gray Anderson, 
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Turkey Program Coordinator. "We can't 
expect to have record harvests every year, but we are at a stable point. "We 
had a little less than 90 percent of the harvest being gobblers versus jakes 
this spring. This tells us our hunters are getting mature birds and we have a 
healthy population."

Many variables influence recruitment in Virginia; weather typically plays a 
critical role in survival of young birds. Extended cold and wet weather can 
lead to high poult mortality rates. Current weather conditions (as of mid-May) 
had not been conducive for good brood survival with extended cool and rainy 
days. These cool and wet conditions may have spelled trouble for early hatched 
broods.
[Bristol-Birds] Greene County leads region spring turkey harvest.

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