River talk

A winter turkey survey project for PA

By SCOTT RANDO
Posted 1/26/22

On January 13, the PA Game Commission (PGC) asked for public assistance in finding turkey flocks in Pennsylvania for an upcoming trapping and banding project. Turkeys will be trapped, processed …

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River talk

A winter turkey survey project for PA

Posted

On January 13, the PA Game Commission (PGC) asked for public assistance in finding turkey flocks in Pennsylvania for an upcoming trapping and banding project. Turkeys will be trapped, processed (measurements, weights, etc.) and then released at the place of capture. In addition, 25 hens in WMU 3D, which encompasses Pike and Wayne counties, will be equipped with GPS transmitters.

Trapping turkeys during winter is part of PGC’s ongoing population-monitoring project as well as the launch of a large-scale hen study. As in the last two winters, male turkeys will be banded. The upcoming hen project will study factors such as disease prevalence and movement, as well as survival and nesting rates.

Hunters who harvest a banded turkey or people who find one dead are asked to call the toll-free number or report it on the website. The information for both is on the band.

To report a flock, go to https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/game-commission-details.aspx?newsid=521 and read the overview of the project. There is a link to the online-sighting report on this page. Report the number of male, female and immature turkeys seen. If the turkeys are far off, or you are otherwise unable to determine the sex or maturity, you can mark that number under the “unknown” field in the online form. (There is a poster on the reporting form to aid in sex and age determination.)

During turkey surveys that have taken place in the summer in past years, each year more than 3,800 people have submitted Wild Turkey Sighting Survey reports. Mary Jo Casalena, the game commission’s turkey biologist, is hoping for a similar response from the public this winter. She said, “The public has been so helpful in years past, so we figured we’d expand on that and ask for help locating winter flocks statewide.”

Pennsylvania Game Commission, turkey flocks, trapping and banding, turkeys, reporting, Wild Turkey Sighting Survey

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