The Great, or Not So Great, Turkey Hunt in New York State Is About To Commence

New York State is about to experience its first comprehensive Long Island turkey hunt in history.

Young hunters will get to shoot a turkey come April 23 and 24, before more experienced hunters take to the field on May 1, as the state attempts to keep young people interested in killing game, when they seem to be headed in the other direction. On those two days, the youngest of would-be hunters, ages 12 and 13, while accompanied by a parent or adult older than 21, or the next-youngest, ages 14 and 15, while accompanied by someone 18 or older, will be allowed to take a single “bearded” turkey, 50 percent of their annual limit.

It’s one way to “turkey trot” kids into the New York hunting army earlier than usual, but it’s not free — it will cost the price of a hunting license and special turkey hunting permit.

There are 160,000 to 180,000 turkeys in the state, with another 6,000 that go back and forth over the border in adjoining states, according to the latest counts, more than in many years. The State Department of Environmental Conservation believes that New York State — above the Bronx and in Suffolk County — is ready to add another game species to the mix.

Licenses to hunt in New York State are not cheap, and it is one way of paying the freight for all the good that the DEC does with respect to minding its birds, mammals, fish and other organisms. This year will mark the first time that turkeys are hunted in every continental state, with the exception of Alaska.

Turkeys have come a long way since first earning the badge of protection here.

But why May? As far as protecting turkeys, wouldn’t the fall season be enough? The two upstate seasons on turkeys provide plenty of opportunity, and there are already plans for a Suffolk County fall season. Last year, it began on November 19 and ran to December 2.

True, the legal take of two birds is very low, right up there with the allowable deer takes — but why the two seasons?

And why a May season? To go with a fall season? In May, the woods in Suffolk County can be full of trail walkers and trail bikers. And it is the month when turkeys are most reproductively active! And, too, there are signs afoot that turkeys on Long Island are not doing as well as they were doing a few years back, when they first began to be legally hunted.

Male turkeys develop turkey harems. These males sometimes go out of their way to protect those harems. They even have been known to chase people and other encroachers away to protect members of their harems. Thus, they can become easy prey for people carrying firearms.

And why the emphasis on adding more young guns to an already packed field? Isn’t there enough killing by young people already?

Turkeys are very smart. Very, very few get run over like deer on our highways, yet they like to feed along shoulders in small groups. I’ve been keeping track of the number of roadkill animals on eastern Long Island since the 1970s, I have yet to record a single roadkill turkey.

We should go easy on them as game animals, especially while their numbers are so low.