HARRISBURG — The Game Commission is asking for the public’s help finding turkey flocks for ongoing research.
Pennsylvanians are encouraged to report the location of any turkey flocks they see across the state. Information is being collected online at https://pgcforms.pa.gov/TurkeySightingSurvey now through March 15.
Among other things, visitors to that webpage are asked to provide the date of the sighting, the location and the type of land (public, private or unknown) where birds are seen.
Game Commission crews will assess sites for the potential to trap turkeys. Just like the last six winters, the Game Commission will put leg bands on male turkeys statewide. Turkeys will not be moved; they’ll simply be leg-banded and released on site.
Trapping turkeys during winter is part of the Game Commission’s ongoing population monitoring.
Hunters who harvest these banded turkeys, or people who find one dead, are asked to report the band number, either by calling toll-free or reporting it online.
“By reporting banded turkeys, hunters provide us with important information on harvest rates for our population model,” said Reina Tyl, the Game Commission’s wild turkey biologist. “In return, the hunter gets to learn when and approximately where the turkey was banded. If the turkey was banded the first winter after it hatched, we can also provide the hunter with an exact age of the turkey they harvested.”
While no turkeys will be fitted with transmitters this winter, as the research projects that were tracking turkeys to get an in-depth look into their survival, productivity and movement are coming to an end, males will continue to be banded in the winter to monitor harvest rates.
Finding birds to trap is key to accomplishing the work. That’s where the public comes in. Fortunately, Pennsylvanians have a history of helping in this way.
Tyl said participation in the Winter Turkey Sighting Survey has been extremely useful for locating trappable flocks over the past four winters.
“The public has been so helpful. Some landowners who reported flocks on their property have also helped with monitoring flock activity and have participated in trapping,” Tyl said. “We look forward to continuing this collaboration this winter.”