Turkey hunters open the spring hunting season on Saturday and from all indications it will be one of the best seasons in years. In fact, many of the rural residents in the county are saying that turkeys are becoming a pest ? eating their flowers and leaving their droppings on their decks and driveways.
Lake County has two species of wild turkeys. The most common one is the Rio Grande, which can be found in the lower elevations. The turkeys around Lakeport and Clearlake are Rio Grandes. They can be identified by the buff colored tips on their tails. The other species in the county is rarely seen and that”s the Merriam. This is a high country turkey and the only ones in the county are located in the Mendocino National Forest. The Merriam can be identified by the white tips on their tail feathers and wings. Both species were introduced into the county a number of years ago.
Male turkeys are called toms and the females are called hens. An immature tom is called a jake and a immature hen is called a jenny. A jake can be identified from an adult tom by the non symmetrical tail when the tail is fanned out. The center feathers on a jake will be about an inch longer than the rest of the feathers in the tail.
With rare exceptions a tom will have what is called a beard that protrudes out from its breast. The beard is actually a set of stiff feathers and grows continually throughout the bird”s life. Occasionally a hen will also have a beard but it”s normally smaller than a tom”s. The tom also has spurs and only the tom is capable of making a gobble sound.
All turkeys roost in trees at night. They fly up to the higher branches just before dark. They will stay in the roost tree until daylight.
The breeding season for turkeys starts in March and continues through May. The tom gobbles, struts and fans out his tail to attract a willing hen. Most of the flocks are made up of from 10 to 12 hens, a dominant gobbler and several young jakes. The jakes usually hang on the fringe of the flock, looking for an opportunity to breed one of the hens when the dominant tom is busy.
Hunting wild turkeys is the fastest growing hunting sport in the state. Despite what many people think, a turkey is not an easy bird to hunt. They can see in 300 degrees without turning their head and are one of the wariest creatures in the woods.
The best calls for a tom in a tree are a series of soft yelps and putts. You can also make what is called the “fly down” cackle to get the tom more excited. Actually, the first 30 minutes of the day are when the tom is most vulnerable. Later, when he teams up with his hens, it can be almost impossible to call him in.
Turkeys are normally the most active from daylight until 11 a.m. and then late in the afternoon from 2 p.m. until dark, when they go to the roost tree. This is the time when you will hear the most gobbles and when they will answer a call.
By mid April, many of the hens have left the flock for good and the toms are basically running out of hens to breed. The tom will then go on the march looking for new hens. This is the time when he is vulnerable to a call and it often takes only a yelp or two to bring the tom charging to you.
The season runs through May 6 (there is an extended archery-only season from May 6 to May 20). The shooting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to 4 p.m. The limit is one bearded turkey per day and a total of three for the season. In addition to a current hunting license all hunters are required to possess an Upland Game Stamp.
Hunters are advised that at the Cache Creek Wildlife Area only hunters with a valid permit will be allowed to hunt on the opening weekend. Starting on Monday, the area will be open for all hunters and no permit is required.
