The spring wild turkey hunting season gets underway Saturday throughout California. Whereas deer hunting and waterfowl hunting have been in a steady decline for a number of years, turkey hunting continues to grow in popularity. One reason is availability of the big birds. Wild turkeys are now found in all but a few counties across the state. The population in Lake County has grown so fast that they are becoming a nuisance in many areas
The season runs through May 5 with a two-week extended season for archers and junior hunters. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until 5 p.m. The bag limit is one bearded turkey per day and a total of three for the season. This year, non-lead shot will be required for turkey hunting. Shotguns, archery and pellet guns that are .177 caliber or larger can be used. Leaded pellets in pellet guns are legal because they are not classified as firearms.
Lake and Mendocino counties are considered the hub of wild turkey hunting in the state. Wild turkeys can be seen in just about every corner of both counties. In fact, they are commonly seen within the city limits of Lakeport and Clearlake. Despite what many people believe, wild turkeys have only been in the county for approximately 40 years.
They are a fascinating bird. Some scientists claim wild turkeys aren’t native to California, but fossil remains of wild turkeys dating back more than 15,000 years have been found. However, they disappeared from the state thousands of years ago. The first wild turkeys were introduced into the state back in 1857 although they didn’t become established until the 1970s. Lake County didn’t have any wild turkeys until the early 1980s
The two species of wild turkeys in California are the Rio Grande and the Merriam. Both exist in the county. The Rio Grande is the most common bird and is found at the lower elevations. The birds seen along the roads in the county are Rio Grandes. The Merriam is a mountain bird and the only ones in the county are found on Hull Mountain near Lake Pillsbury.
Wild turkeys belong to the Galliformes class of fowl and include grouse, pheasants and quail. Weighing up to 25 pounds, the turkey is the largest game bird in North America. Wild male turkeys are called gobblers or toms. A juvenile male is called a jake. The adult female is called a hen and an immature female is called a jenny. The male can be identified by his bright red head, beard and spurs although a few hens also have boast beards. They are polygamous, meaning the tom will breed with any willing hen and does not assist in raising the young.
The breeding season starts in early March and runs through April and sometimes into May. The adult tom breeds with as many hens as he can entice. He attracts the hens by gobbling and strutting. Each flock normally contain eight to 10 hens, two or three jakes and at least one adult tom. The toms will fight during the breeding season and have been known to kill other toms by spurring them. They have even been known to attack humans during the breeding season.
With rare exceptions, a tom has what is called a beard that protrudes from its breast. The beard is actually a set of stiff feathers and grows continually throughout the bird’s life. To a hunter, a trophy beard is one that is at least 9 inches or longer. Occasionally a hen also has 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 gobbling sound.
The hen selects a nesting area, usually at the base of a tree or beneath a log, and builds a nest out of leaves and other debris. She will lay an egg or two a day and then return to the flock. In about two weeks the clutch will hold from eight to 10 eggs and at that time she will leave the flock and incubate the eggs for 28 days. The young are all hatched within a day or two of each other.
After being hatched, the hen will take the young from the nest to feed on small seeds and insects. All turkeys roost in trees at night to protect themselves from predators. They fly up to the higher branches just before dark. It’s amazing to see a 20-pound turkey sitting on the highest branch in a tree. They are capable of hanging to the branch in even the fiercest windstorms and will remain in the roost tree until daylight. At the age of about 10 days the chicks are capable of flying up into the roost tree where they join their mother. The hen will fly up first and then call to her chicks to join her.
While the Mendocino National Forest is a popular hunting area for turkeys, parts of the national forest are now closed because of last summer’s wildfires. Hunters can check which areas are open by going to the Mendocino National Forest website.
