The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Struttin’ Time

Mother Nature’s effect on wild turkeys


As we wait for the days of winter to fade into the spring, I am ever mindful of the miles we have traveled together and the hours we have spent getting ready for our hunts.

But are we really ever ready for what lies ahead?

In case you haven’t noticed, it seems that the weather is so mixed up in the last few years you can’t tell what season we are having. The turkeys follow Mother Nature to the letter, no exceptions. What do they think when we have 70-degree days in January, and zero in February?

I can see the time when our turkey populations decline because of the changing weather patterns. The turkeys are creatures of habit and they know when to breed, but anymore when the poults are ready to hatch, here comes a wet spring when it should nice and dry and a whole clutch fails.

Many years like that and we, my turkey hunting buddies, are history. I don’t have a clue as to what is going on with Mother Nature, but I’ll try to hunt as long as there is an open season, then I’ll sit around and tell the little kids about what used to be.

Today I had on my long johns, tomorrow my swimsuit.



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