Come mid-April, many of us avid turkey hunters begin paying closer attention to the wild turkeys around us as we try to get a handle on where those birds might be come opening day.
And there’s nothing like seeing some strutting tom turkeys to get a hunter excited about the coming season.
Today’s trail camera video was captured in March down in Luray, Virginia, where Bangor Daily News reader Debby Scaggs captured some great footage of two toms strutting alongside the Shenandoah River.
The sight of those two toms with their mating plumage on full display is impressive, to say the least.
Here in Maine, that season is coming right up, with Spring Youth Turkey Day set for Saturday, May 1. The rest of us will be allowed to hunt beginning on May 3. The season runs through June 5, and the state’s reintroduction of wild turkeys, which began in the 1970s, has been so successful that hunting is now allowed statewide.
The only catch: In northern Maine zones — Wildlife Management Districts 1 through 6, and 8 — the seasonal bag limit is one bearded (tom) turkey. In the rest of the state, the limit is two turkeys during the spring season.
So tell me: How does the turkey population look in your hunting grounds? If you’re like many Mainers, I’ll bet you’re seeing plenty of birds.
Do you have a trail camera photo or video to share? Send it to jholyoke@bangordailynews.com and tell us “I consent to the BDN using my photo.” In order to prevent neighbors from stopping by to try to tag particularly large bucks, moose or bears, some identities and towns of origin may be omitted. If you are unable to view the photo or video mentioned in this story, go to bangordailynews.com.
