Wild Turkey Brood Sighting Survey

 

Have you seen turkey hens and their poults?  Then let us know in the NJDEP Fish & Wildlife's Turkey Project's Wild Turkey Brood Sighting Survey.

This survey information is used as a measure of wild turkey productivity in New Jersey and nationally as one way of estimating how well turkeys raise broods each year.  

The Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey, and the heaviest member of the diverse Galliformes (a group of game birds which includes grouse, pheasants, and partridges). It is the same species as the domestic turkey.

Information from this wild turkey brood survey is useful as a measure of wild turkey productivity. This survey is used in New Jersey and nationally as a means of estimating how well turkeys did raising broods each year. This survey will run from June 15th - September 15th. Since hens may lose their young or may not nest at all, it is important to record lone hens as well as those with poults. To the best of your ability, each of your record entries should be of new broods when this is known. 

Please do not submit the same brood you see every day as a separate survey entry. Example: If the same brood visits your backyard every day, this would be one entry for the entire period of the study.

If you cannot tell poults from hens, especially in the later months of the survey, please record them in the "unknown" section of this survey.

Each time data is submitted, via the submit button at the bottom of the screen, it is counted as a single record.