As Indiana’s spring turkey season gets underway, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wildlife research biologist Steve Backs said hunters should plan to work a little harder this year.

Indiana’s spring turkey season began with the youth season running April 21-22, and the regular spring turkey season runs through May 13. Backs is forecasting a spring turkey harvest of 11,000, plus or minus 1,000.

His prediction is about 6 percent fewer than the 11,669 birds harvested in 2011, and 20 percent fewer than the 2010 spring harvest, when hunters bagged a record 13,742 turkeys. Expectations are lower this year for two reasons: several years of below-normal brood production and the advanced progression of vegetation.

Indiana has experienced seven consecutive summers of below-normal turkey production primarily because of above-normal precipitation in June. Several other states in the Midwest and South have experienced similar or worse drops in production.

Due to the record warm weather, the spring progression of vegetation is 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule. More greenery will make seeing and hearing turkeys difficult, but also provide additional concealment for hunters.

“The increased concealment gets us into a potential hunter safety issue,” Backs said. “Hunters are going to have to be very vigilant in correctly identifying their target, and also recognize that the hunter’s presence may not be as easily detected by another hunter in the same area.

“When hunters do hear a turkey, they could be more likely to overestimate the distance to the bird and may end up spooking or overrunning the location of the gobbler as they approach.

“It may be just a different year,” he said. “Anybody that’s been around turkey hunting realizes you can’t predict the weather, you can’t predict the timing of spring green-up, you can’t predict how turkeys will respond.

“Hunters shouldn’t get too discouraged. There are some reasons for a little optimism. Mushroom season came early, and morel hunters are likely to be out of the woods by the time turkey season comes. Additionally, hunters might find some extra gobblers in areas where flooding limited hunting last year.”

Hunters in Indiana are allowed one bearded or male turkey. A wild turkey license and game bird habitat stamp are required unless otherwise exempted. Exemptions are detailed in the online Turkey Hunting Guide at www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/6417.htm

The Guide also contains license requirements, bag limits, hunting hours, equipment regulations, a comprehensive list of public hunting areas and contact information for DNR district wildlife biologists and DNR law enforcement districts.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Jack Spaulding may contact him by e-mail at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.