Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Romig
I've walked right by hens on nests within 10 feet and in my experience they just flatten and sit tight.
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While surveying a thinning project on our tree farm with my local Conservation Dept. private lands specialist, we flushed a hen from a nest. I took photos of the nest and we marked its location (she was obviously laying and not setting as there were only 4 eggs). The PLS called the State turkey biologist (our farm is in one of the State's turkey focus areas, so the turkey biologist was familiar with our farm which they'd scouted to trap turkeys for putting location collars on them for their study). He said that turkey hens will not revisit their nest if pushed off it. The PLS and I were skeptical, so, after waiting the appropriate time (and getting the OK from the turkey biologist), I went back to check the nest. The eggs -- the same number we found upon flushing the hen -- had obviously been predated by something -- probably a coon or 'possum. Another time Elaine and I flushed a hen from a nest while surveying our access trails. We noted the number of eggs and went back much later to check. Eggs were there (same number), but no sign of the turkey. Our last check of the nest indicated that the nest had been abandoned. That's a tiny sample size, I know, but based on those experiences and what the turkey biologist said, I'm inclined to believe that scaring a hen from her nest is the end of that nest.
But, Dean, I agree with your observations, at least in the two or three instances where I saw the hen on the nest but she did not flush. We observed one hen on multiple occasions and she sat tight. As far as we could tell, she raised a brood from that nest.
BUT, I would still like to hunt turkeys in the afternoon. We are in the woods roosting them, and there is no prohibition against that. I have had many a chance at an otherwise unhuntable Tom while waiting near his roost in the late afternoon/evening. Plus, you don't have to get up early!
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