Improving Wild Turkey Winter Habitat

By Bob Eriksen, NWTF Regional Biologist

As soon as the snow begins to fall, and sometimes earlier, wild turkey biologists can count on receiving calls from concerned turkey hunters and others about the availability of winter food for the birds. Often the callers are seeking advice on what they might plant, how to build a feeder or what to feed wintering flocks. We humans have a strong desire to identify with wildlife and offer help in harsh weather. Winter is the toughest time for wild animals. There is a high demand for calories to produce body heat and snow can affect the availability of food and the ability of wild animals to move.

Wild turkeys and other wildlife do need high quality winter food. If winter food is a limiting factor, the number of wild turkeys that stay in an area for the winter can be affected by providing evenly distributed natural food sources. Establishing food plots is one way to improve winter habitat for wild turkeys and other species. Fall planting of winter wheat or rye can attract the birds in the fall and the early “green up” of these annuals will be attractive to turkeys in late winter, keeping them around your area for the spring. Food plots of standing corn or sorghum remain above the snow and available throughout much of the winter. Both of these annual crops have strong stalks that can handle snow and the winter wind. Corn is perhaps the best of the annual grain crops for winter food plots.

Annual grain crops readily attract turkeys and supplement natural food supplies. The size of the food plot is an important factor. In general, food plots should be 1/4 acre or larger so that deer do not consume all the available food before the weather becomes critical. Another advantage of larger food plots is that, while they attract turkeys, the birds are not concentrated in a small area. Concentrating a number of feeding turkeys in a small area is a health concern. Planted food plots will be used regularly by turkeys, but the birds will also seek out other foods.

Winter food availability may be further enhanced by planting or encouraging trees and shrubs that hold fruit through the winter. Several varieties of crabapple are ideal for this purpose. Black haw is another tree that often holds fruit into the late winter. Among the best varieties of shrubs and vines for winter food are winterberry holly, wild grapes, Concord grapes and Hercules club. In your woodlot, encourage wild grapes, American bittersweet, hop hornbeam, ironwood (blue beech) and flowering dogwood, depending on what grows naturally in your area. Dogwoods, ironwood and hornbeam drop seed in the fall, but it is often available in the winter if there is not too much snow.

Fruit trees should be planted in small orchards consisting of 20 to 40 trees. The trees should be spaced far enough apart to allow for growth and easy access for mowing equipment. Seedlings should be protected from competition by placing weed mats on the ground. Tree protector tubes will stimulate growth and keep the young trees from being damaged by deer and small mammals. Saplings should be protected with fencing until they are firmly established. Every local chapter can participate in Project Appleseed. Through this program, the chapter can obtain 25 Sargeant crabapple seedlings and all the necessary equipment to establish a small orchard. There is no cost to the chapter unless more trees are needed. The seedlings can be planted on public or private land. Before planting, make sure you have approval from the landowner for both the project and the location!

Old, abandoned orchards may be improved by removing some of the invading trees that are shading the apple trees. Apple trees should be pruned every few years to improve fruit production. It is best to remove dead branches and then begin light pruning of the live branches. Increasing the production of old orchards won’t hurt your deer and grouse hunting either!

Thermal cover is another important consideration for improving winter wild turkey habitat. Groves of spruces, pines or hemlocks can help to block the cold winter wind, provide winter roost sites and minimize snow depths under the trees. Conifers grow quickly and can provide good cover for grouse and other small game species within a few years of planting. If you plant seedlings, it will take about twenty years for these conifers to begin to be attractive for roosting turkeys. However, the birds will use the conifer groves for feeding and loafing sites long before they can roost in them. The best species of conifers for use in Pennsylvania are white pine, red pine, blue spruce, Norway spruce and eastern hemlock.

Spring seeps are very important to wintering wild turkeys. The constant water temperature in the seeps causes them to stay open even when the snow is deep and cold temperatures prevail. In northern Pennsylvania, leeks, watercress and sensitive fern grow in the seeps, providing choice winter food. In the southern part of the commonwealth, seeps produce sensitive fern and skunk cabbage on which the birds forage. There are other foods found in seeps as well. Seeps in open pastures can be improved by planting food-bearing shrubs near the seep. Wooded spring seeps can be improved by removing a few trees and allowing a little more sunlight to reach the ground. This will stimulate growth of important plants. Don’t remove all the trees, just one or two of varieties that don’t produce much food like red maples.

The National Wild Turkey Federation has a program called Project Help through which seed, seedlings and planting supplies are made available to our members at very competitive prices. Brochures and price lists are available by calling 1-800-THE NWTF. Habitat improvement is a great method for encouraging wild turkeys to use your property and enhancing their winter survival.