“It was thought that the May 2016 harvest total might exceed 4,000 gobblers, but poor hunting weather the first week probably reduced the potential harvest somewhat,” said longtime NH Fish and Game Turkey Biologist Ted Walski. Opening day (May 3) was a foggy morning, after a hard rain of 1.25 inches the previous day. On Wednesday, May 4, it rained most of the day, amounting to 1.5 inches. On Sunday, May 8, it rained again in the morning.
Another factor reducing the harvest, according to Walski, was the very early green-up. Spring-like conditions typical for the end of March were in evidence by March 7. The month of April saw 18 “thawing days” of 50°F or greater. By May 17, leaves were budding out on the trees, reducing visibility and absorbing sound – and making it more difficult for hunters to see and hear turkeys.
Of the 18 Wildlife Management Units, J2 (north of Route 4 to Lake Winnipesaukee) had the most turkeys taken (627), followed by K (mostly western Hillsboro county) with 461, then M (435) and L (381) in the Rockingham/Strafford county region, and H2 (409) in Cheshire County.
Further details of the data from the 2016 spring gobbler season will be available at a later date when all registration data have been entered and verified.
The current wild turkey population in New Hampshire is 35,000
Most turkey eggs typically hatch from late May to mid-June. NH Fish and Game is asking the public’s help in monitoring observations of wild turkey broods through its annual turkey brood survey that runs from June 1 through August 31. Additional information on the survey and how to participate is available at www.wildnh.com/surveys/turkeybrood.html.
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