Tracking the Mysteries of Piney Woods Eastern Turkeys

WHY DO EASTERN TURKEYS thrive in some areas of the Pineywoods and struggle in others?

Is there a hidden key that could unlock the secret of successful flocks versus those that gradually disappear?

Researchers from Louisiana State University (LSU) and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) hope to answer those questions and others in a new study that involves fitting turkeys with GPS tracking units.

“We can gain a tremendous amount of information from turkeys with these devices. A similar study has been going on in Louisiana for a decade, and we have learned much about them in the Kisatchie National Forest and other areas,” said LSU’s Dr. Bret Collier.

In January, LSU graduate student Chad Argabright and the TPWD Wildlife District 6 leader Rusty Wood and his crew set rocket nets and captured turkeys on a hunting club near the northern tier of the Angelina National Forest.

“This area has consistently had strong turkey numbers compared to many other locations in East Texas, yet it is not classic turkey habitat. TPWD partnered with the landowners and leaseholders here and made arrangements to capture and study these birds with the GPS units,” Wood said.

Dr. Collier said the collars give 17 location points throughout the day and are especially helpful with providing data on issues like travel distance and discovering where hens feed with their poults.

 

 

“There is a ton of published research on wild turkey and their habitat requirements. However, this elusive bird still seems to thrive in some areas while struggling in other areas with perceived useable space,” said TPWD Turkey Program Leader Jason Hardin.

“The information gained from this study will be value-added to wild turkey management in East Texas and potentially across a much larger portion of the birds range.”

According to Hardin, TPWD is continuing its translocation of turkeys in the region. 

They recently completed a stocking project with 13 Maine birds in Franklin County and added 27 birds from Maine to the Middle Neches Eastern Turkey Cooperative in Angelina County. 

“Restocking began in the 1930s and went through several iterations of releasing Rios and pen-reared birds. Block stocking using exclusively wild trapped birds began in 1979 but didn’t get legs until the mid-1980s with the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Target 2000 program. Block stocking ended in 2003, but with mixed results,” Hardin said.

The agency under his leadership has moved forward with “super stockings” of turkeys with a minimum of 80 birds stocked in a location with a male/female ratio that allows for optimal population expansion.

“TPWD started the super stocking effort in 2014, and we have released close to 1,000 birds since,” he added.

In January, numerous birds (mainly adult hens) from the Angelina County stocking were fitted with transmitters, which began sending data to researchers upon release.

 

 

This will give researchers valuable information on the successes and challenges of turkey restoration in East Texas. 

“TPWD hopes to continue with the current program until we can daisy chain restocked and established populations across our Neches and Sulphur River Priority Areas in order to create a large range of connected populations capable of exchanging populations over time,” Hardin said.

Texas Fish & Game will continue coverage on this important project here in the magazine, at fishgame.com, and in our e-newsletter.

 

—story by CHESTER MOORE

 

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