Fish and Game began live-trapping wild turkeys in places like Texas and Nevada, and releasing them in the California wilderness. These live-trapped turkeys thrived, successfully reproducing and growing their population in the state to the hundreds of thousands.
“They can be found across the state in deserts, forests, and cities. They can eat all kinds of foods; they travel in groups and they have lots of eyes to avoid predators.†Merriam's wild turkeys and Rio Grande wild turkeys are the most common in the Sacramento area.
As omnivores, wild turkeys have options when it comes to finding their next meal. Seeds, berries, roots, insects, even small reptiles and amphibians are all fair game.
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an invasive species currently causing heated debate in California. Turkeys also appear to have narrower preferences for both microhabitat and macrohabitat than quail, and are therefore limited in the areas they can colonize.
Just about every part of a wild turkey is edible. While the legs and thighs of a wild turkey aren't as tender as the breast meat, they are even more flavorful. Use them in soups, stews, slow-cooked turkey barbecue, and, my favorite, turkey and dumplings.
Osceola turkeys are a subspecies of the eastern wild turkey. This dark turkey with black wings that have small white bands on them and dark-brown-tipped tail feathers lives in south Florida.
Turkeys “may attempt to dominate or attack people they view as subordinates.†This behavior is most common in the fall when young male birds start competing with elders of the flock, according to MassWildlife. 1 on the list is to stop feeding turkeys because that can lead to bold and aggressive behavior.
The two primary subspecies found in California are the Rio Grande and Merriam's subspecies. Eastern turkeys and various hybrid turkeys have also been released in the state. Pior to the late 1950s, turkeys had become established primarily along the central coast from DFG game farms.
Native from the central valleys to the northern mountains of Mexico and the southernmost parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Gould's wild turkeys are heavily protected and regulated. The subspecies was first described in 1856. They exist in small numbers in the U.S. but are abundant in northwestern portions of Mexico.
Through conservation and reintroduction efforts, however, they recovered and today, although not quite as many as the ten million estimated during the 1600s, they number about six million and are resident in every state except Alaska.
They can be found in 49 U.S. states, with the only exception being Alaska, Hughes said. In total, about 7 million wild turkeys live in the United States; prior to 1500, an estimated 10 million turkeys existed, he added.
Many hunters ask, “Is it even okay to shoot hens?†The answer, simply, is yes, where it is legal, of course. “It is strictly a management decision based on population levels,†said Mark Hatfield, NWTF's director of conservation services. The strength of a state's turkey population determines if hens should be killed.
Bait and Baited AreasIn general, it's illegal to take any resident game bird, including turkey, or any resident game mammal, within 400 yards of a Baited Area.
Creating habitat turkeys thrive on: South-facing slopes, where sunlight limits snow depths. Conifer stands (particularly hemlock) because their limbs shield the ground.
Do not feed the turkeys. Many people don't know this, but it is actually illegal in California to feed wildlife according to this section of the California Code of Regulations. Remove bird feeders that might be attracting them. Install motion-detecting sprinklers to deter turkeys from foraging in your yard.
