Feeding Habits???

[Gobblernut]

Hey fellas this is probably a question without a specific answer but I'm still curious as to what you guys think..I hunted an area friday that was absolutely torn up with scratching siign litrally looked as though their had been a garden tiller  ran through it. The whole ridge side and top mostly really fresh sign but alot of older scratching. So how long will turkeys actually use a specific feeding area?? ocasionally or routinely..Can one bank on this spot or is it just hit and miss type thing..Would this be a place to sit and wait and call ocasinally..thanks..

[Fan Club]

You have two variables at work here.

The first is that a larger flock of feeding turkeys (and resultant sign) will dwindle as the breeding season heats up and the birds continue to separate. Hens will stake out nesting areas and gobblers will fight for local dominance as the flock spreads out.

Secondly, the diet and preferred food source of the turkey changes rapidly in the spring. When it's still cold, grain for carbohydrates and energy is the choice. Next comes tasty green shoots, blooms and small berries as soon as they are available. Finally, warmer weather brings insects and their desired protein.

The net result is that hunting a foodsource like forest scratchings is unreliable. The turkeys were just passing through looking for a bigger and better deal. Maybe within a day or two of finding the sign, give it a try, certainly not a week or more later. Now that you know birds are in the area, your time would be better spent trying to find out where the turkeys roost and where they prefer to be at certain times of the day. (They're not always eating.)

Jeff