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
Youth Hunting Period (Y):
- April 21 to May 25, 2012
Hunting Periods Dates
- A. Monday, April 23–Friday, April 27, 2012
- B. Monday, April 30–Friday, May 4, 2012
- C. Monday, May 7–Friday, May 11, 2012
- D. Monday, May 14–Friday, May 18 and Monday, May 21–Friday, May 25, 2012
- E. Saturdays: April 28, and May 5, 12, and 19, 2012