A recent phone call from good friend and Buckland resident Muriel Shippee has put me in a wild turkey state of mind!
It seems that Muriel, unknowingly, came upon a hen turkey that was sitting silently on a nest while she was recently mowing one of her fields in Buckland. She got very close to this nest when a sudden flush caught her compete attention, and as a large hen turkey flew up in front of her, winging away at a high rate of speed, she was caught completely by surprise. Then, as she peered over a small amount of grass noticing the nest that was still barely covered, she saw that it contained five eggs that were perfectly placed within the nest, undisturbed, with Muriel now hoping that the mother hen would return.
Later that day she caught me at Shelburne Town Hall and told me her story, and her biggest concern, which was not about the fact that she inadvertently made this great find, but that she may have disturbed the nest. She wondered whether the mother would return, which of course is exactly what you would expect from a person like Muriel. She had no idea the nest was there, yet she knew she had come close to damaging it. But even if she had done damage, it would have been no fault of her own as this happens every year with farmers and landowners just like Muriel, who come across newborn fawns or nests unknowingly. That’s especially true this late in August when you don’t expect to find a nest with eggs still in it.
That said, even this late into the season, as hard as it may be to believe, it’s still possible that a hen might have a nest that contains a second clutch of eggs, especially if she lost her first clutch to wet and cold weather or hypothermia, predation by crows, ravens, hawks, skunks, fox, raccoon, bobcats and even a stray house cat. But another interesting point is, if a hen should lose her first clutch, she can re-nest after a brief period without having to be bred again. This is because the sperm from the initial mating remains viable for up to 30 days. So seeing a hatch brood of young turkeys in late August, or even September, can lead one to think that this is a hen’s second, or even third clutch. But it’s more likely that she has lost a brood and has simply re-nested.
The bottom here line is poults are vulnerable in many ways during any early period of their young lives, and not just from distinguished ladies mowing fields in Buckland. As a matter of fact, that’s probably the least of their worries! But the question remains, what should we do, if by chance we come across a wild turkey nest that has eggs in it, even this late into the summer?
Well, the most promising course of action would be to leave it alone, then leave the area as quickly and as quietly as you can. And if possible, walk in the opposite direction, away from the fleeing hen, because we must remember that wild turkeys are generally “nervous nesters,” easily startled away from their nests.
Now, exactly how nervous an individual hen is may depend on how long she’s been nesting, or incubating, her eggs. The longer she’s been in the nest, the more likely she is to return after being disturbed. But disturbances cannot continue to happen indefinitely, so the best practice is to simply leave the area, tell no one what you saw, and try not to return.
A related bit of “wild turkey folklore” says that a hen will abandon her nest if a human touches her eggs. But I have a little trouble with that one because like many birds, wild turkeys have a relatively weak sense of smell, and a hen would likely not be able to detect human odor on her eggs. So I don’t think that touching her eggs would give her any reason to abandon the nest, yet I would never suggest this to anyone. As a matter of fact, I would vigorously discourage it.
On different occasions when I have come upon a nest, I’ve marked its location but did not disturb it, nor did I take or touch any eggs. When, or if, this happens to you, just leave the area, and don’t disturb the nest. As sportsmen and women, our main goal is to protect hens and their nesting grounds because hens need all the help they can get to successfully raise a brood, while disturbing a nest can result in the loss of an entire hatch. And that’s something every one of us should try to avoid at all costs!
Joe Judd is a lifelong hunter and sportsman. He is an outdoor writer, seminar speaker, member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, and a 2019 inductee into the N.E. Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Joe is also on the Quaker Boy Game Calls and Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Pro-Staff. He can be reached at jjontheridge@comcast.net