Hunting News

Spring gobbler numbers down, as F&G seeks hatch counters

Spring gobbler numbers down, as F&G seeks hatch counters

By New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

Preliminary results for May 2016 spring gobbler season show hunters harvested 3,821 turkeys in New Hampshire during the spring hunt.

This is 172 fewer gobblers than the 3,993 taken in the 2015 spring season, or 4 percent fewer birds. Final harvest numbers will become final as registration forms trickle in from the 60 stations around the state.

In looking forward to next year, Fish and Game is seeking asking the public’s help in monitoring observations of wild turkey broods through its annual turkey brood survey which began June 1 and runs through August 31.

Most turkey eggs typically hatch from late May to mid-June. Additional information on the survey and how to participate is available at www.wildnh.com/surveys/turkeybrood.html.

"It was thought 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 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,” he reported.

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 degrees or greater. By May 17, leaves were budding out on 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 had the most turkeys taken (627), followed by K with 461, then M (435) and L (381), and H2. More details of the data from the 2016 spring gobbler season will be available after all registration data has been entered and verified.

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