Thank you for participating in the annual New Brunswick Winter Flock Survey. This survey will be open annually from December 1st through March 31st. Survey summary results will be published on the CWTF website.
Please do not report the same flock multiple times.
Winter flock surveys are implemented to monitor wild turkey population health, productivity, habitat use, and trends over time to facilitate informed wildlife management decision making. They can also be used to gauge social tolerance.At the northern edge of their distribution, wild turkeys are mainly limited by severe winter weather (extreme cold, prolonged cold, deep snow, rain followed by sharp freeze, etc.) and winter food availability. Wild turkeys flock in winter for warmth, safety, and more efficient foraging, and they typically do so in sex- and age-segregated groups (i.e., winter flocks typically separate into large hen/juvenile flocks and smaller gobbler (male) flocks. Jakes (young males) may form their own smaller groups or be found at the periphery of gobbler flocks. These flocks tend to remain stable through most of winter until spring dispersal.
The winter wild turkey flock survey, when combined with hunter harvest data, hunter survey data, brood survey data, and other population assessment methods, can facilitate wild turkey monitoring, management, and conservation efforts, ensuring the sustainable management of the species.
Submitted data can be used to:
Assess Population Size and Trends
• Winter is a period when turkeys form large, stable flocks, making them easier to spot and count reliably.
• Surveys can help estimate overall population size and detect local, regional, or province-level increases or declines.
Monitor Distribution, Habitat Use, and Health
• Surveys provide information on where turkeys are wintering and how habitat conditions influence flock movements and density.
• Surveys can be used to identify illness in individuals, such as Avian Pox and Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus (LPDV). Avian pox has been confirmed in New Brunswick; LPDV has not yet been reported in the province, but has been confirmed in neighbouring Québec.
Support Long-term Research and Management Plans.
• Data can be used to develop long-term population models and conservation strategies for maintaining healthy turkey populations.
Inform Hunting Regulations.
• Population trend data can help provincial and state agencies adjust harvest limits, season lengths, and permit allocations.
Please submit observational data for all wild turkeys observed, either alone or in groups (see survey instructions below for more details).
Winter wild turkey flock survey instructions
• Record all wild turkeys observed, including males and/or females, and turkeys that you could not identify as hens or males (unknown). There is no inferior reporting limit; please submit data for all wild turkeys observed (individual birds or groups of more than one).
• Please provide as accurate a count as possible.
• Please record and report each different flock sighting separately; do not compile multiple observations as one sighting, even if observations of different flocks are made on the same day in the same WMZ.If you have additional questions about the winter wild turkey flock survey, please email Dr. Tadeusz Splawinski, CWTF Biologist and researcher, at
tsplawinski@gmail.com
