When searching for spring turkeys, hunters usually concentrate their scouting efforts on roosting areas, clearings, and routes connecting the two areas. This is a sensible tactic because, during this season, gobblers are more interested in displaying their skills than in locating food. But turkeys have to eat, too, and paying attention to food sources can pay off.
Understanding what foods wild turkeys eat and why they eat them at different times of the year can be very beneficial to turkey hunters. From a management perspective, it can help us gauge the productivity of different habitats. And from a scouting perspective, it can help us pinpoint areas where birds are likely to congregate.
The image of a majestic wild turkey strutting through the forest, gobbling and displaying its vibrant plumage, is a familiar one. But what fuels these fascinating creatures? Do turkeys eat meat? This question might surprise you, as we often associate turkeys with Thanksgiving feasts and vegetarian fare. However, the reality is far more intriguing
Wild Turkeys: Omnivores with a Diverse Palate
Contrary to popular belief, wild turkeys are not strict vegetarians. They are in fact omnivores, meaning their diet encompasses both plant and animal matter. This dietary flexibility allows them to thrive in various habitats and adapt to seasonal changes in food availability.
A Feast of Flora: The Plant-Based Side of the Turkey’s Diet
The majority of a wild turkey’s diet consists of plant material. This includes:
- Seeds: Acorns, beechnuts, and various grasses provide essential carbohydrates and fats.
- Fruits and Berries: Wild grapes, blueberries, and other berries offer a sweet and nutritious treat.
- Leaves and Buds: Young leaves and buds are rich in vitamins and minerals, especially in the spring.
- Roots and Tubers: Wild turkeys will dig up roots and tubers, such as carrots and potatoes, for their starchy goodness.
The Meat Factor: Insects and More
A turkey’s diet is mostly composed of plants, but they also eat a surprising amount of animal products. This includes:
- Insects: Grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and other insects are a valuable source of protein, especially for growing poults.
- Small Mammals: Mice, voles, and even young rabbits can be on the menu, particularly during the winter months when other food sources are scarce.
- Reptiles and Amphibians: Lizards, frogs, and salamanders provide a protein boost and diversify the turkey’s diet.
Seasonal Shifts in the Turkey’s Menu
The diet of the turkey varies with the seasons and the availability of food sources. Turkeys rely more on acorns, beechnuts, and other hard mast during the fall and winter months when fruits and insects are scarcer. When spring comes, they start to pay more attention to newly sprouted seeds, insects, and verdant foliage.
The Importance of Food for Turkey Management
Understanding what turkeys eat is crucial for effective wildlife management. Knowing their favorite food sources allows us to pinpoint regions where healthy turkey populations are likely to exist. Additionally, planting specific food sources can attract turkeys and enhance hunting opportunities.
Beyond the Thanksgiving Bird: A Fascinating Omnivore
The next time you see a wild turkey strutting across a field, remember that this magnificent bird is far more than just a Thanksgiving centerpiece. It’s a fascinating omnivore with a diverse and adaptable diet, showcasing the wonders of nature’s intricate food web.
Bonus: Fun Facts about Turkey Eating Habits
- Turkeys can consume up to 20 pounds of food per week!
- They have excellent eyesight and can spot food sources from a distance.
- Turkeys use their strong beaks and claws to dig for roots and tubers.
- They often congregate in large groups to feed, offering a spectacle of feathered feasting.
Wild turkeys are truly remarkable creatures, and their diet reflects their adaptability and resilience. By understanding what they eat, we can appreciate their role in the ecosystem and contribute to their continued survival. So, the next time you see a turkey, remember that it’s not just a Thanksgiving bird, but a fascinating omnivore with a story to tell.
How the Diets of Different Turkey Subspecies Vary by Region
A wild turkey’s wide-ranging diet is part of why the birds can be found in every U. S. state outside of Alaska. Moreover, despite the belief of many domestic turkey hunters that the hardwood forests of the East constitute the center of turkey country, flocks of wild turkeys thrive in swamps, mountains, plains, and deserts. Here is a general breakdown of each subspecies and the major foods they tend to focus on.
Eastern turkeys are the largest and most abundant subspecies of wild turkey found in the U. S. They are found in every state east of the Mississippi River, where their main sources of food are native grass seeds, flowers from herbaceous plants, and hard mast like acorns and beechnuts. As with the other subspecies, insects also play a valuable role in their diet.
A map showing the ranges of the different wild turkey subspecies. NWTF
Eastern turkeys in the Midwest are especially fond of waste grains and other agricultural food sources, including soy beans, corn, and wheat. A study conducted in Wisconsin looked at 100 hunter-harvested birds and found that the birds’ crops contained roughly twice as much waste grain (roughly 54 percent) as wild plants (roughly 27 percent).
Rios are native to the semi-arid southern Great Plains states, including Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas. They depend heavily on oaks, pecans, and other mast trees, along with insects and a variety of grasses. Researchers with Texas A&M found that a random group of Rio Grande turkeys in the state had a well-balanced diet consisting of “about 36 percent grasses, 29 percent insects, 19 percent mast, and 16 percent forbs.”
Hydration is also extremely important to Rios and other wild turkeys in arid states. Turkeys eat succulent plants, which have a higher water content than other plants, but they also get most of their moisture from surface water sources like ponds and creeks. Because of this, Rio Grande turkeys may mainly rely on prickly pears and other cacti for food in areas like deserts and scrublands.
A resident of the mountains and high plains in the Western U. S. , Merriam’s turkeys inhabit some hard-to-reach locales. They consume the seedlings and cones of conifers, such as ponderosa pines, but they really like the nuts of hardwood trees.
Tender grass shoots and buds are other springtime favorites, and Merriam’s turkeys often feed exclusively on grasshoppers at certain times of the year, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Merriam’s turkeys living in cattle country will also concentrate on feedlots, scrounging for leftover alfalfa, barley, and other waste grains.
In a study conducted on Merriam’s turkeys in South Dakota’s Black Hills, the U.S. Fish and WIldlife Service found that “adult birds consumed 78 different kinds of food” throughout the year. But four main food groups dominated their crops: ponderosa pine seeds, bearberries (also known as manzanita), green grasses, and arthropods (mainly grasshoppers and beetles).
These vibrant turkeys, which are unique to Florida, thrive in the state’s interior marshes and wide-open fields. Swamp birds generally eat more frogs, salamanders, and other small amphibians, while birds in drylands typically eat more grubs and acorns. Favorite foods also include berries, wild grapes, ferns, and other plants.
Of the five subspecies of wild turkeys, Gould’s turkeys are the rarest and can only be found in the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. (Their range also stretches south into Mexico. They have a diet similar to Rio Grande turkeys, consisting mostly of a variety of grasses and cacti, occasionally supplemented with lizards. They also concentrate on piñon nuts and berries from the common scraggly juniper trees found in the Southwest.
Inspect a Turkey’s Crop
All five subspecies of wild turkeys in North America eat this diet. The specific contents of their diet varies significantly by region, however, and the best way to understand what turkeys are eating in your area is to inspect the crop of a harvested bird.
“Sometimes you open up their crop and it’s packed full of one flower,” says Dr. Mike Chamberlain, a lifelong turkey hunter and one of the country’s leading wild turkey researchers. “Other times you’ll see ten different things. ”.
Warning: you may never eat turkey again after watching this
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