Bret Collier

@FargasonErb @robinson_bert @wildturkeydoc Hey Fargoman: Not dodging. Restriction in No. of hunters slows harvest rate as most harvest is in first week. Harvest is up in MS, but way down from highs, so new normal perhaps. Point is, if you harvest fewer/later, hens nest earlier, and earlier nests are more successful.

@DrShortSpur @robinson_bert @wildturkeydoc That response is misleading. First of all, only the non residents on public land open later. I believe the point Dr Robinson was making is that MS season opens very early, March 15, yet turkey numbers are healthy. Care to explain, without dodging the question?

Hey @wildturkeydoc what about this? youtu.be/h1VVNK3YTLU

@robinson_bert @wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb I saw that, reduction in hunting pressure for first 15 days of season (the non-residents opening later) tends to lead to increased reproduction and more available birds in subsequent years. 75 years of turkey science has suggested this would be the result.

@DrShortSpur @wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb Harvests in recent years are actually up. mdwfp.com/wildlife-hunti…

@robinson_bert @wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb Earlier reg change was non-resident specific, NR cannot hunt public lands until later. Typing too fast on phone, sorry. MS harvest like other states, is down since the 90s, so I think the concern exists about timing or why reduce NR, would like to see their disagreeing data

@robinson_bert @wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb As far as I know MS does not have any turkey data on regulatory changes and turkey response, so I am interested in who you visited with and their basis for the disagreement? In 2024 MS followed AR, LA, GA and others and moved the season back a week, and saw a increase in harvest

@robinson_bert @wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb Hey Bert. Yes and no. Craigs study found that the median date of nesting did not move, but most successful females 50-70%) start nesting well before the median date. My 11 yrs of LA data shows a pretty clear impact of earlier nesting and more success when we changed our opener

@DrShortSpur @wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb Dr. Harper concludes that the later start date had zero affect on Turkey populations. Do you have any data of your own to contradict this?

@wildturkeydoc @FargasonErb @robinson_bert Looking at their results, seems to me it pushed reproduction up in number of days (nests around 8 days earlier) and nest success was up around 5%. Seeing similar results in our long-term research here in LA. Not convinced anything was -debunked-, but headlines sell I guess

@FargasonErb @robinson_bert And what theory would that be? The idea that agencies tweak harvest regs in response to declines in turkey numbers? That’s been occurring for decades

New research shows that hatched clutches of wild turkeys are biased towards females. That, coupled with about 50% annual survival of males once they reach adulthood, makes the odds of harvesting a truly old tom pretty low! ⁦@NWTF_official⁩ ⁦@wildturkeylab⁩

Gobbling activity = hunter satisfaction, we all want to hear gobbling turkeys. The use of autonomous listening devices and machine learning tools allows us to collect and process gobbling data at huge spatial scales. Gobble gobble! ⁦@wildturkeylab⁩ ⁦@NWTF_official⁩

DEADLINE EXTENSION: The Wild Turkey Symposium seeks original research on wild turkey ecology and management for presentation at the Symposium and publication in a special section of the Wildlife Society Bulletin. Further details are available at i.mtrbio.com/tluhdluwsk

Wild turkeys eat hundreds of food items, the don’t put your eggs in one basket approach. Early studies showed that a single bird could consume thousands of seeds, insects, and other items in a single day! Diverse diet = adaptability.⁦@NWTF_official⁩ ⁦@wildturkeylab⁩

Years of planning and collaboration resulted in the approval of The Wildlife Mexico Chapter TWS Asociación Civil, in Oct. 2023. Major steps towards the start of a TWS Mexico Chapter have been accomplished. Read more here: hubs.ly/Q02RvKrK0

Circling back to this old post as we have a new paper out regarding this topic! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10… @KevinRingelman @LSUAgCenter @Ecol_Evol

Each spring you see pics of turkeys believed to be color phases of wild turkeys, but many are Heritage domestic birds that become feral and integrate into wild flocks, like this Fall Fire and Bourbon Red. Have you seen similar birds? ⁦@NWTF_official⁩ ⁦@wildturkeylab⁩

Drones are increasingly used to survey wildlife, but are they accurate? Researchers conducted daytime thermal-based drone surveys over South Texas to find out. hubs.li/Q02v8LyP0

@gigembreaze @BwleeLee @BmNation @Bauer Looks like a predation attempt, she put up a fight. They do happen, but are generally pretty rare relative to bobcats, coyotes and snakes causing nest failure. Cool footage though👍

@BwleeLee @BmNation @Bauer Predation or scavenging? @DrShortSpur

This is a very interesting piece that teaches us the troubles and challenges wild turkeys go through during their nesting period! It makes you have a whole new level of respect for these animals after seeing what they go through… 🎥: @bauer.outdoors

A new agreement allows for the release of endangered ocelots on private ranchland in Texas. The agreement allows landowners to continue ranching operations in exchange for allowing recovery efforts on their land. hubs.li/Q02sgQZ60

Presenters at next year’s National Wild Turkey Federation symposium will also be authors in the Wildlife Society Bulletin. For the first time, the submission process includes both the journal and the symposium. @NWTF_official hubs.li/Q02rXS7f0

buff.ly/3PT7Tab - THROWBACK TT July 27th, 2021 | This Turkey Tuesday is about nest parasitism in wild turkeys, which is simply when one hen lays eggs in the clutch of another hen. Although not widely... #wildturkeylab #StrutDefenders #nwtf #turkeytuesday #spurred

buff.ly/3PJWr0C - THROWBACK TT Aug 3rd, 2021 | This Turkey Tuesday is about a question I get regularly during turkey season – what subspecies did I harvest? Subspecies designations were historically based on... #wildturkeylab #StrutDefenders #nwtf #turkeytuesday #spurred

@NWTF_official call for manuscripts for 13th Wild #Turkey Symposium Proceedings as part of a special section in an issue of the Wildlife Society Bulletin. Authors are required to submit their manuscripts by Nov 1. Further details are available at hubs.li/Q02qpYk50.