We’ve been scouting turkeys for more than a week now and haven’t found anything close to home to pursue when the season opens Monday morning. We’ve seen two lone hens, always in the same spot so they’re most likely on nests, jakes and a tom. The jakes and tom are in an area we can’t hunt. I’ve heard two toms were fighting in the middle of Route 1 in Waite and were hit by a truck earlier in the week.

A hen

I haven’t seen any turkeys or signs of them at my house since one of the ice storms in January. We had three bobcats hanging around over the winter and I think they probably dined well on turkeys. As much as I love to hunt them, I’m not sorry there aren’t many around. Fewer turkeys means less damage to the young fruit trees in the orchard and less damage in the garden.

I’ll be out Monday morning before the sun rises. I don’t know where I’ll be but I’ll figure it out between now and then. The weather looks decent – no rain, and it’s still too early for black flies so even if I don’t hear a gobble it should be a good morning.

My plans this year are to take my first bird with my shotgun and try for a second with my bow. It will be my first bow hunt and I’m pretty excited about it. I’m practicing daily, working my way up to 100 shots a day.

Don’t forget your transportation tag. This pdf file has four tags good for turkey, bear and deer. You can make your own tag by writing your name, address and license number on a piece of paper. Tags must be attached to the bird.