Hunting the First State Author Steven M. Kendus with a 2012 eastern wild turkey.

Although rain and wind put a damper on the opening day of New Jersey turkey hunting season yesterday, today was a much different story.

I arrived at my hunting spot around 5:00 AM, and I heard the first turkeys gobbling from the roost at 5:30 AM — about 15 minutes before shooting time. I thought I was set up close to the roost, but I was surprised to hear them (many of them) gobbling about 250 yards away.

As I questioned whether I should move locations, the turkeys continued their incessantly gobbling for 40 minutes. They finally flew down from their roosts around 6:10 AM. I saw about 10 deer near where I heard the turkeys, but I didn’t see any of the turkeys on the ground. I could still hear gobbling, but I thought they were walking away from me — until I saw the deer start to scatter.

Like a bruising bully, a giant tom barreled out of the woods and into the field, spooking the deer. He was gobbling his head off and proceeded to march off toward a wooded thicket about 75 yards from where he entered in the field. Sensing the coast was clear, four more birds followed the big tom’s path, making sure to keep about a 30-yard cushion between them and him. The big gobbler walked off into the thicket, but the other four entered the field and began walking toward me.

When the four birds dropped down a swale and out of my line of sight, I scrambled to set two decoys on my edge of the field and began calling with my diaphragm call. All four birds gobbled back at my calls, and they began a slow 200-yard march across the field toward my decoys.

I called to the turkeys every few minutes as they cautiously approached. About halfway across the field, I could make out two jakes, one tom with a smallish beard, and one slightly larger tom with a long beard. Lucky for me, the big one was leading the march.

After 45 minutes, all four turkeys were within 40 yards of my 12-gauge — but there was a problem. They were all walking in a single-file line directly toward me! I couldn’t shoot the lead bird without potentially taking out all four of them! I was fearful that they would get too close and realize the hens they were calling and courting were plastic, so  I was hoping one of them would make a move. The biggest one did.

He began clucking and half-strutting to catch the attention of the decoys. In doing so, he stepped two feet to his left. Two feet was all I needed, and he was hit with a load of 5-shot that dropped him in his tracks. The other three scampered away.

Not a bad morning, considering it was the first day I hunted during the first week of the season.

He weighed in at 18.5 pounds, had a 9-inch beard, had one 1.125-inch spur, and one 1.25 inch spur. Check out the photos.

Always looking for an artistic approach to game photos.

Steven M. Kendus carrying a harvested wild turkey.

Although some Delaware hunters have packed away their hunting equipment until fall, others are eager to begin their pursuit of a frequently overlooked gamebird in the First State – the wild turkey.

Delaware wild turkey hunting season opened Saturday April 14 (with Saturday April 7 designated as youth season), and hunters should experience success rates on par with the 2010 and 2011 seasons, in which 368 and 487 turkeys were harvested, respectively.

According to Bob Eriksen, certified wildlife biologist and northeastern U.S. field supervisor for the National Wild Turkey Federation, the number of turkeys in Delaware is similar to recent years. “A pretty good hatch occurred in 2010, so two-year-old gobblers should be available in good numbers,” Eriksen says. “Two-year-old gobblers are the bread and butter of spring hunters, [since] they gobble and come to a call more readily than older gobblers.”

While two-year old toms may be plentiful, Eriksen believes the one-year-old jakes may be less abundant this season due to a mediocre hatch in 2011.

As all 2011-2012 Delaware hunting seasons were seemingly affected in some way by our mild winter weather, it is only logical to question the effect the mild winter and early spring warm up will have on Delaware’s turkey flock and their breeding patterns.

With food sources plentiful over the winter, high numbers of both gobblers and hens should have survived with good fat reserves and plenty of energy. Assuming our mild and relatively dry weather continues, the healthy hens should be capable of laying good egg clutches and re-nesting, if necessary.

Just as their energy reserves facilitate healthy egg production in the hens, the excess fat in toms should ensure high activity levels during breeding season, typically meaning that the mature males will actively seek as many mates as they can. With toms actively scouting for hens, turkey hunters can expect to receive responses to calls, especially early in the season.

The early spring warm up and subsequent early foliage bloom may affect this year’s turkey season in other ways, as well. Normal egg laying timeframes and subsequent hatch dates may be a bit earlier than usual, so hunters may hit the Delaware woods and fields with the turkey mating season already in full swing. With the early mating, it is also possible that gobbling activity decreases earlier than normal, leading to more challenging hunts in the final weeks of the season.

The early foliage bloom will make seeing and hearing turkeys more difficult, so turkey hunters will have to use extra caution. “Spring hunters should be extra careful when the vegetation is fully leafed out, making absolutely certain of their targets,” cautioned Eriksen.

Additional Info Regarding Delaware Turkey Hunting

• Wild Turkey Youth Season – April 7, 2012
• Wild Turkey Season – April 14 – May 12, 2011
• Season hours are ½ before sunrise until 1:00 PM. All turkeys must be checked at an authorized turkey check station by 2:30 p.m. on the day the bird is harvested.
• All first time Delaware turkey hunters must successfully complete a Division of F&W approved Turkey Hunting Safety class.
• Hunters wanting to hunt turkeys on public land must enter the preseason lottery and if selected most possess a Division public land turkey permit while in the field.
• Youth hunters hunting turkeys during the Youth Season may only hunt on privately owned lands

Additional Info Regarding New Jersey Turkey Hunting

Editor’s Note: I took one of my 11-year-old daughters on her first turkey hunt today on New Jersey’s youth hunting day. She was extremely excited and had a great time, so rather than telling her story in my words, I asked her to tell her own story. Read her words below.  Be sure to watch the video at the end of the story. – SMK

My First Turkey Hunt – Written by G. Kendus

April 23 2011 5:10 We just got set up in the woods, and are waiting for sunrise. It was raining so we didn’t know just how the turkeys would act. We soon figured out that it is a lot different from hunting in sunshine.

6:05 My Dad started calling for turkeys. First only two replied, then as he called more we heard about four gobblers and several hens. Hearing the first gobble of the morning made me very hopeful but sent a chill down my back.

6:30 My dad sees birds in the woods behind some trees but when they came around the corner they were just hens. We called the gobblers for about 40 minutes then it started to pour, and they didn’t answer. 6:50 the rain finally had let up only hear to hear about 6 gobbles, then came more of the rain.

7:00 I heard very few gobbles but when I did they were farther away towards a blind we noticed while scouting the day before.

7:15 BOOM! We heard a gun shot coming from the other blind. I had thought to myself, daang it! Those birds are probably scared half too death, they’re never going too come out. 5 minutes later we saw a man and the kid who shot and apparently had missed by the way they looked. We made sure they heard us and knew that we were there. My dad and I took a walk to see if they needed any help but we couldn’t find them. We stayed in our blind for about half an hour, saw two hens then went back to the car.

8:00 We were on our way back to the car when I saw a turkey on a dirt mound. My Dad said we should go over but when we saw it, it was just a big hen. 8:05 As we were driving down the road we saw a whole bunch of deer being chased by a jake. We pulled over and tried to hunt that area for about five minutes, sadly not too see anything.

8:25 We got out of the truck at our second spot to see three male turkeys. One was a giant tom and the others were small jakes. My dad set up a decoy and tried calling them over, but they just wouldn’t move. We decided to walk around the field under cover to get closer to them. As we got closer the nerves were building. At one point my stomach felt as bad as when I had the flu.

11:15 The turkeys were in view although we didn’t see the big tom. My Dad set up two decoys: a very convincing blow up with a plastic head which made it more convincing, and a really junky plastic decoy that had poor detail. [Editor’s Note: Darn! I didn’t think she noticed!] I sat on a little floor cushion to keep my butt from getting wet. As I put my knee up I saw the big tom, and I knew that he was going to come to the decoys and the calling.

11:25 I put my elbow on my knee, lifted the gun, waited like that for five minutes [Editor’s Note: More like 15 minutes], then the tom was finally in range. BANG! I didn’t think I hit him but my Dad said I did. We saw him fly over to a private field that was overgrown. We searched with binoculars for about 10 minutes then decided to find feathers where I shot. My Dad saw the first ones then I found all the rest. I at least hit him, which feels good, but it is just my luck for him to go in a private field.

12:00 I was starving so we ate stuff out of an MRE pack then went home.

Author Steven M. Kendus and Rob Etherton with an eastern Gobbler

From my article that ran in The News Journal on April 7, 2011.

Although wild turkeys were once abundant throughout the region, there were few, if any, wild turkeys in Delaware in the early 1980s. With assistance from the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and local volunteers, Delaware’s wild turkey population has grown to more than 4,000 birds over the past several decades.

Gary Showalter, a volunteer Delaware district director for the National Wild Turkey Federation, assisted with turkey re-stocking efforts in 1984. “We’ve come a long way from 1984 with the initial release of 34 birds from Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New Jersey,” says Showalter. “Those birds were released at Milford Neck Wildlife Area and the Burnt Swamp in Sussex County. We have trapped and transferred birds within the state, as well as additional birds brought in from South Carolina, Virginia, and New York.” Additional birds have since been released throughout the state, including some around Brandywine Creek State Park and near Delaware City.

The overall Delaware wild turkey population is difficult to estimate, so the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife is conducting volunteer-based turkey counts and is working with the University of Delaware to conduct a turkey hen survival and productivity study in parts of the state. According to Delaware Wildlife Biologist for Migratory and Upland Game Birds Matthew DiBona, “Preliminary first year results from last spring suggest that the hard winter may have had a negative impact on hen survival going into nesting season. We are entering the second year of this study now, which will provide additional data on survival and nest success.”

Turkey sightings are more common in Sussex and Kent Counties than in New Castle County, and the majority of wild turkeys are harvested by hunters in the lower two-thirds of the state.  Delaware has had consecutive record harvests since the 2005 season, with 368 birds harvested in 2010. Approximately 57% of the wild turkeys were harvested in Sussex County, 37% in Kent County, and 6% in New Castle County – all south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

DiBona believes that the expansion of wild turkeys into the northernmost parts of Delaware is limited because suburban and urban development has fragmented suitable habitat to the extent that is unclear if turkeys could thrive and maintain a self-sustaining population. However, the newly formed Northern Delaware Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is using volunteer resources to raise awareness of turkeys in northern Delaware and to increase wild turkey numbers in New Castle County.

Daniel Fitzgerald, president of the Northern Delaware Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, intends to positively affect the northern Delaware wild turkey population through conservation, education, fund raising, and additional stocking efforts. “We have a lot of turkey hunters in northern Delaware who travel to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to hunt turkeys, mainly because few turkey hunting opportunities exist in northern New Castle County,” Fitzgerald states. “We know there are some turkeys here, but most of them are on private, unhuntable ground. Our goal is to educate the public and work with the State to reintroduce wild turkeys to northern Delaware public wildlife management areas in order to create strong, sustainable flocks.”

Fitzgerald and National Wild Turkey Federation Regional Director Patty Foster point out that it costs over $500 per bird for trapping and relocating wild turkeys from one state to another, and that public support is necessary for successful restocking efforts. “Since 1985, Delaware NWTF chapters have raised and spent nearly $250,000 on wild-turkey-related projects within the state, including turkey restoration, habitat enhancement, and hunter safety programs,” says Foster. “Funds, typically raised by chapter banquets, donations, and community events, also help support other programs like Wheelin’ Sportsmen [helps people with disabilities enjoy hunting, fishing and shooting], JAKES [give children opportunities to explore the outdoors], and Women in the Outdoors.”

Delaware’s wild turkey conservation efforts have proven successful, and as a result, the number of Delaware turkey hunters is increasing. Delaware has added an additional week to the turkey hunting season, so it looks like 2011 could be another record year for turkey harvests.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Delaware Wild Turkey Season

Delaware’s 2011 spring wild turkey hunting season runs from April 9, 2011 to May 7, 2011 (no Sunday hunting). Private land hunters may hunt all 25 days of the season. Public land permits can only be used on the property and during the season segment for which they are issued.

Season segments are:

• A – April 9 – 15
• B – April 16 – 22
• C – April 23 – April 29
• D – April 30 – May 7

First Annual NWTF Northern Delaware Chapter Hunting Heritage Banquet

April 30, 2011, 5:30 PM

Holloway Terrace Fire Hall, New Castle, DE

Contact: danieltfitzgerald@hotmail.com

www.nwtf.org/in_your_state/banquet.php

Steven Kendus’ Hunter’s Journal appears monthly in The News Journal. Kendus is the author of Hunting The First State: A Guide to Delaware Hunting. Follow his blog and podcast at www.HuntingTheFirstState.com. Contact him at skendus@HuntingTheFirstState.com.

Brandywine Creek Cleanup Day 1:00 PM Sunday, October 17, 2010
Meet at Thompson’s Bridge

Northern DE Chapter of NWTF Helping with Brandywine Creek Cleanup Day Sunday

Together, we can help ensure the Brandywine Creek remains a favorable environment for wildlife habitation and enjoyment by the citizens of Delaware.  The Brandywine Creek is a water source for the City of Wilmington, so your efforts today will also have a direct impact on the people who get their water from city service.

Event sponsors include the Northern Delaware Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ashland Inc., State Representative Greg Lavelle, State Senator Colin Bonini, and Waste Management.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS: Community Service Hours
Fulfill your community service obligations by helping clean up the environment! Bring any forms you are required to provide your school or organization as proof of your contribution today to the registration tent at the parking lot at the Thompson’s Bridge entrance to the park.  Additionally, there will be a sign-in sheet for those who need to document their contribution today but may not have been provided a form by their school or organization.

Participants aged 12 and younger require supervision.

Be Prepared for to Get Your Hands Dirty!
Clean up areas may be slick with water, mud, and leaves.  Vegetation may be thick and cause tripping hazards, as can other hazards like roots, logs, and rocks.  Paths may not exist.  Wear appropriate clothing and foot gear.  We recommend you keep spare foot gear available.  Sunglasses and a hat are recommended.  Work gloves will be provided.

PRIZES and GIVEAWAYS!
Thank you again!  Please be sure to pick up prizes for your participation provided by the sponsors, as well as information on the sponsors when you get there.  There is a map attached which highlights our route if you would like to check out the area.

All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you at the event this Sunday, October 17th! Again, we are meeting at Thompson’s Bridge at 1:00.

On 9/22/2010 at 6:30 PM, a meeting of the Northern DE chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be held at Ommelanden Hunter Education Training Center. If you have kids, this is a great way to spend time in the outdoors with them.  There will be pizza and soda.

Come out for an hour to learn more about the goal of increasing the turkey population in New Castle County, Delaware.  There is no charge for this, and you might even meet people you already know.

If you go:

OMMELANDEN HUNTER EDUCATION TRAINING CENTER
1205 RIVER ROAD
NEW CASTLE, DE 19720

If you plan to attend, please email Dan Fitzgerald at danieltfitzgerald@hotmail.com.

New Jersey’s wild turkey hunting season just wrapped up May 28. I achieved moderate success, harvesting a 21-lb gobbler on the second day of the season back in April. After that, things went downhill – literally.

Turkey hunting success on the second day of the season

During the second (or third?) week of the New Jersey turkey hunting season, I saw some great turkey sign, and I set up in a good spot. Right after first light, a bald eagle attacked my turkey decoy, thinking it was a live bird!

New Jersey bald eagle attacked my turkey decoy

As I continued hunting during the third week of the New Jersey turkey season, I hunted the morning after strong thunderstorms. I tried to drive over a land bridge, but the storms weakened the bridge! I almost slid into the creek! I backed out just in time!

This is when my turkey hunting season started going downhill!

Turkey hunting close call

During the fourth week of the New Jersey wild turkey season, turkeys were pretty hard to come by. When you can’t shoot things with your gun, use your camera. Here’s what I encountered while traversing the countryside one Saturday.

Snapper Turtle walking across a field

Box turtle walking across a field

Turkey egg, probably raided by crows

Nice scenic shot of old farm equipment

Toad at my feet

Wild Turkey Hen decoy "killed" by a Bald Eagle in New Jersey

I was turkey hunting New Jersey Friday morning and used a photo-imprinted hen decoy. I set the lone decoy about 15 yards into a plowed field, and I set up on the tree line of the field’s edge. Around 5:45 AM, I saw a bald eagle flying toward me. The eagle passed over me, and I lost site of it. About 30 seconds later, the eagle swooped down and blasted my hen decoy!

I heard the sound of wings, the sound of the bird crashing into the decoy, and the sound of the inflatable decoy popping! I at first thought someone shot the decoy, until I saw the bird standing next to the deflated decoy dumbfounded. After collecting my wits, I tried to photograph the eagle with my iPhone, but all the only photo I managed to get was one of the eagle flying away.

The eagle stood next to the decoy for about 30 seconds, then flew to a nearby tree and screeched for 30 minutes.

I attached some images that show the talon marks (holes) in the decoy.

I am truly impressed with new technology used in decoy manufacturing. If that decoy fooled an eagle’s eyes, it should work very well on wild turkeys!

Here is my column from yesterday’s issue of The News Journal.

Call me paranoid, but I truly think every tick in the woods is singling me out to infect me with Lyme disease or some other hideous illness like Rocky Mountain spotted fever or tularemia.

As if the ticks I encounter while hunting aren’t enough, the mosquitoes, horse flies and chiggers only add to my torment.

With West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, and who knows what else potentially lurking in the grotesque mouth parts of some of these blood- and skin-eating bugs, proper bug bite prevention is a crucial component of both warm-weather and cold-weather hunting.

To protect myself from these vampires of the woods, fields, and swamps, I first coat my hunting clothing (pants, shirt, jacket, hat, and socks) with a powerful Permethrin-based bug repellent, like Duranon.

Permethrin is a synthetic chemical that is widely used as a long-lasting insecticide, acaricide (tick and mite killer), and insect repellent. Unlike common bug repellents that are meant to be applied directly to the skin, permethrin-based repellent does not stick to skin. It is instead applied to exterior clothing where it dries and bonds to the clothing fibers. I spray my clothes outdoors and let the clothes dry overnight.

I’ve found that permethrin-based repellent is the most effective bug safeguard available, and it actually remains effective on unwashed clothing for several weeks. In case my word is not convincing enough, consider that the Department of Defense uses permethrin-based bug repellents and that several companies offer bug-repellent clothing that is manufactured with permethrin-treated fabrics.

While the permethrin treatment is effective, I take further precautions against bugs. I usually wear tall rubber boots and tuck my pants legs into them. If I anticipate long walks that necessitate wearing shorter leather hunting boots, I will tuck my pants legs into my socks and “blouse” my pants over the boots to make it that much more difficult for ticks and chiggers to crawl up my legs.

It’s improbable that ticks will be able to traverse my permethrin-coated clothes, but it is only a matter of time before mosquitoes and biting flies find unprotected skin.

As an added means of protection, I apply a DEET-based bug repellent to any exposed areas, which are typically my hands, face, ears, and neck. Rather than applying the repellent directly to my face, I spray it on my hands and manually rub it in so that I avoid contact with my eyes.

I am also careful about allowing hunting gear to touch any bug repellent until it is dry. On more than one occasion, bug repellents have eaten away finishes from eyeglasses and from binoculars and range finders that I wore around my neck.

Although bugs are more prevalent in the late spring, summer and early fall, precautions must also be taken during the winter.

Some species of ticks, for example, can be active on mild winter days, especially when temperatures exceed 40 degrees.

20-lb 14-oz New Jersey Gobbler taken by Steven M. Kendus.

Thanks to my friend Rob who invited me on a New Jersey turkey hunt, I harvested this nice gobbler at 6:50 AM on Tuesday, April 27 (week A of New Jersey’s wild turkey season). The tom weighed nearly 21 pounds (20 pounds, 14 ounces) and had a 10-inch beard. One spur was an 1 1/4 inch; the other was 7/8-inch.

Rob and I actually saw this same longbeard strutting in a pasture field at the edge of a woods on Monday morning. We tried to call him in Monday, but he was already with two hens. He had no interest in our calls.

On Tuesday, we set up in the corner of the same pasture before dawn. Just before 6:00 AM, we heard some tree yelps close and some gobbles farther back in the woods. Within a few minutes, we heard some birds fly down, and we had a hen walk in front of us into the field. She pecked around for about 20 minutes, and walked away.

While Rob and I fought the urge to fall asleep, the first hen came back in front of us. We heard some other hens in the woods, and we heard a couple gobbles coming closer. Around 6:45, one hen came out of the woods to the field. Rob said that it should be only a matter of minutes before the big boy shows up. The hen was followed by another, and then a jake or bearded hen stepped out. With my attention focused on the woods in anticipation of the gobbler walking out, I didn’t have time to really focus on that third bird. It’s a good thing. Within about 30 seconds, I saw a red and blue head pop over the hill in the woods that led to the field.

I was thinking the gobbler would follow the same path as the hens and step right into the field, but he hesitated for a few seconds. I had the sites of my Remington 1187 on him, and I heard Rob say, “Shoot!” Not waiting for him to step into the field, I hammered him at about 30-35 yards at 6:50 AM. Only his head was visible over the hill and through the trees, but I knew he dropped instantly.

Rob and I sprinted from the blind, and Rob snatched the big fella up. The Remington 3-inch magnum turkey load hit true, placing a good concentration of pellets in his head and neck. He was done.

After taking some photos, I thanked Rob for the opportunity to hunt with him. He knowledge of the New Jersey eastern wild turkeys and the hunting areas was phenomenal.

Thinking I may get a full mount of this bird, a taxidermist friend helped me skin the gobbler out last night. The full skin is in my freezer, while I plan my next hunts.

I plan to hunt each week of the New Jersey season, so I will post updates.