Mar 13, 2019
The wild turkey is an intriguing bird with a lot of quirks.
Every spring, this majestic bird makes a fool out of countless
hunters that chase after them. One thing that holds constant
amongst the
greatest turkey hunters, is that they have a lot of turkeys to
hunt. This is where wild turkey habitat management comes in. There
are a number of practices that every land manager, whether he owns
or leases land, can employ to attract wild turkeys and hold them on
their property. The good news is they don't have to break the
bank.
Today we're talking with Ryan Basinger, a wildlife biologist
and the lease and acquisitions manager with the Westervelt Company.
Westervelt owns and
manages around 500,000 acres around the Southeast. Managing that
much land means you learn a thing or two about wild turkey
habitat.
On today's show, you'll learn some interesting science about
the wild turkey, like:
- How long do wild turkeys live?
- When do Turkeys lay eggs? Meaning, does a hen lay a new egg
each day she is bred?
- Can you sex a wild turkey by it’s droppings?
Along with the science, we'll cover some questions we see
landowners and lessees asking all the time such as:
- What are the Wild Turkey Habitat Requirements?
- What do Wild Turkeys Eat?
- What makes up a wild turkey diet?
- Is there a wild turkey favorite food?
- What to plant for Wild Turkey Food Plots?
- What do you feel is more important?
- Managing native vegetation or planting wild turkey food
plots?
Ryan will explain what practices Westervelt employs that they
feel makes the biggest difference. There are a lot of things a land
manager can do. Practices like mowing, discing, and strip discing
all have their place. When it comes to creating openings for wild
turkeys, we'll cover thinning, timber stand improvements, and
controlled burns. There's a lot to cover, speaking of
cover...
Cover is critical in wild turkey habitat. Ryan answers the
questions:
- How does a turkey protect itself from predators?
- What makes good Wild Turkey nesting habitat? Where do Wild
Turkeys nest?
- What Wild turkey habitat improvements and predator control
practices does Westervelt use to help turkeys protect themselves
from predators?
Proper management of wild turkey habitat is a critical part of
what makes the turkey hunting so good at Westervelt. Tune in to
learn what the key strategies are that land managers need to focus
on to best ensure success and how you can pay for it all!
We get a lot of landowners that want to know, how much is my
land worth? We’ve recorded a video series to explain exactly how we
determine that... just head over to
http://www.landhuntin.com to
get the series.