Did you know that turkeys weren’t always so plentiful in Texas? Unregulated hunting and habitat destruction decimated wild turkey populations in the 1800s. Numbers remained low into the mid-1900s, with only an estimated 100,000 birds in 1959. Not to worry, conservation-minded decisions to protect and promote important habitat increased the species’ numbers, and by 1970, Texas had an estimated 575,000 birds.
Turkeys can be found throughout the state but tend to avoid the very arid areas of the Trans-Pecos and the agricultural areas of the high plains. Out of the 5 subspecies of wild turkey, Texas has 3: the Rio Grande turkey, the eastern turkey, and Merriam’s turkey. The subspecies tend to inhabit different environments. For example, Rio Grande turkeys prefer more arid and brushy environments and are found throughout the Edwards Plateau and the plains of South Texas. Eastern turkeys, on the other hand, prefer areas with higher rainfall, such as the Pineywoods and bottomland hardwoods of eastern Texas. Merriam’s turkeys prefer the ponderosa pines found in the Trans-Pecos mountains.
Aside from location, the range of light- to dark-colored tips on the tail feathers is the most telling identifier of subspecies. Eastern turkeys tend to have the darkest tail feather tips, which are dark brown. Next, the Rio Grande tends to have lighter, tan-colored tail feather tips. The Merriam’s turkey is the most obvious and has white tail feather tips. The intensity of gobbling also varies between subspecies, with eastern turkeys having the strongest gobbles and Merriam’s turkeys having the weakest gobbles of all subspecies.
Currently, wild turkey populations are thought to be thriving in Texas, with an estimated 500,000 Rio Grande turkeys, 16,000 eastern turkeys, and a few hundred Merriam’s turkeys. However, this isn’t the case in a lot of places due to poor habitat. Expanding human populations means an increase in things like urbanization and agriculture, and turkeys require an interspersion of early successional habitat for nesting and brood rearing and mature trees for roosting. Proper habitat management is crucial to ensuring that the critters we all love stick around for the future.
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MULTI-COUNTY FORAGE SEMINAR CROSS PLAINS, TX DECEMBER 10
The annual Multi-County Forage Seminar is set for December 10th at the First Baptist Church in Cross Plains, TX. Registration will begin at 8:30am and program will start at 9:00am. Lunch will be provided. The cost for the seminar will be $40 before December 5th, and $50 after. Payment will be accepted at the door.
If you have a TDA private applicator license there will be 5 CEUs offered.
Topics Include:
- Mode of Action of Insecticides: Gregory Wilson, IPM in Tom Green County; Knowing what mode of action to help select insecticides and which ones control certain insects the best.
- Grassbur Control in Pastures and Hay fields; Billy Campbell, Chemical Rep; Biology of grass burrs and ways of controlling them in pastures and hay fields through pre-emerge and post-emergent.
- Importance of Soil Health for hay fields; John Sackett, NRCS Soil Scientist; Importance of having good soil and ways of creating a healthy soil.
- New information of Prussic Acid and ways to control Johnson Grass: Dr. Calvin Trostle, Professor & Extension Agronomist; Learning new information on prussic acid and ways to control johnson grass in our hay fields and pastures.
- Feral Hog control and new tool: James Long, project coordinator, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute; Biology and tools used to control wild pigs. The laws and regs of new hog bait (Kaput).
- Laws and Regs: Jason Jones, TDA Inspector: TDA Laws and Regs Update
To RSVP by December 5th contact the Brown County Extension Office at 325-646-0386.