Calling all birdwatchers and nature lovers in Tennessee: it's time to play a significant role in the state's wildlife conservation efforts this summer. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has launched its annual public wild turkey observational survey starting June 1, and running through August 31, and they're seeking your eagle-eyed assistance to monitor the wild turkey population.
The TWRA has been conducting these surveys since the 1980s, but only recently in 2022 opened the participation to the public providing a unique opportunity for nature enthusiasts to become citizen scientists, and last year a notable 2,664 wild turkey sightings were reported by 742 enthusiastic public observers and 158 dedicated TWRA staff, coming from almost every one of the state’s 95 counties. Though the findings from 2023 painted a picture of concern, with the estimated average number of poults per hen at a slightly worrisome 2.1, below the 5-year average of 2.5 poults per hen; nevertheless there was an uneven distribution, as West Tennessee fared better in turkey production than the eastern regions, according to the TWRA.
With an aim to improve the comprehensiveness of their data, the TWRA is calling for increased public participation. "This project has been very beneficial to help monitor our turkey population and gauge its annual productivity," said Roger Shields, TWRA Wild Turkey Program Coordinator. Encouraged by the previous year's participation, the agency's ambitious goal for this year is to gather data from all 95 counties in the state.
Interested parties can visit the TWRA website for a wealth of resources, including guidelines on how to conduct the survey, a tutorial for turkey identification, and the survey form for submitting observations, with every turkey sighting observed by the agency staff and volunteers to be meticulously recorded by county and later summarized regionally and statewide. The collected data promises to be of invaluable assistance to the continued stewardship of Tennessee's natural heritage and the well-being of its wild turkey populations — a collective effort that hinges on the observations and the footsteps of both dedicated biologists and the public stepping into the serene battlefield of conservation.
