© Copyright John Trout, Jr.

Trial By Fire

The old hen moved slowly and cautiously through the shaded hardwood forest; her eight poults followed close behind.  Yesterday there were nine youngsters, but one, while feeding intently on insects in a nearby open field, fell victim to a red-tailed hawk. 
When the hen reached the edge of the stubble field, she scanned the entire area for predators. She would have preferred to stay under the canopy within the safety of the hardwoods, but the food her poults required, primarily invertebrates, was in the stubble field.  Would she suffer the loss of another poult today?

It’s no big secret that wild turkey, during their first few weeks, feed almost entirely upon insects.  When forest openings are created by prescribed burning, they provide an abundance of invertebrates.  In recent years, we have learned much about the importance of fire and forest openings in the management of wild turkeys.

A couple of years ago, I spent an early summer day with Indiana wild turkey biologist Steve Backs.  We visited several forest openings created by prescribe burnings conducted by the U.S. Forest Service in the southern portion of the state, including Perry County’s Boone Creek.  According to Backs, the objective of a perfect burn is to create the proper mixture of diverse  habitat – areas touched by fire and those that are not.

The burn had eliminated dense vegetative growth and allowed plants that need fire as part of their ecology to start the reproduction process.  The burn also developed a mineral seed bed which allows some species of plants to germinate that may never have otherwise.

The new vegetation that comes up after a fire is more nutritious for herbivores and the new growth in openings attracts a lot of insects.

“Since invertebrates provide about 99 percent of the food items for poults during the first four weeks of life, the availability of openings can make or break the survival chances of the poults,” Backs explained.

Burning is often more reasonable for making forest openings than using modern equipment.  Clearing land with heavy machinery requires an extensive amount of time, and some selected sites are not easily accessible by the heavy equipment.  With the proper preparation, however, burning can clear several acres in a matter of minutes.

The best time to conduct a prescribed burn for turkeys is from January through March.  Turkeys will take advantage of the rapid green-up that usually occurs during the late spring and early summer, and poults will feed on the insects the openings attract.  As the summer progresses, the poults’ feeding habits will expand to include ripening grasses and seeds.  The openings provide food sources until acorns and other foods become available.

To determine the number of insects in a forest opening, Indiana’s DNR gathered bugs from specific openings during the month of June for three consecutive years.  Officials compared the number of bugs collected from the opening to bugs collected from mature forest sites where the sun could not get to the forest floor.  Backs reported that they collected far less bugs at the shaded sites than they did at the clearings that received plenty of sunlight.

Backs claims that more insects may gather in cleared areas where the vegetation remains dense and short, but it is the cleared areas with somewhat taller vegetation that may be more favorable for the poults.

“You can have a lot of insects in a red clover field, but a young poult would have a problem trying to maneuver through the tangle of stems and vegetation.”  Food is not all that a poult requires though.  The poults also need protection from predators.  A mother hen does a fine job taking care of her poults, but she must lead them to areas where food is readily available, even if it means an open area where predators can easily spot them.

According to Backs, an ideal opening is one that has existing vegetation about 10 to 12 inches tall, and single stems 3 to 4 inches that grow under the taller vegetation.  The highest foliage provides some protection from overhead predators, while the shorter stems allow the poults to easily maneuver through the feeding area.  The hen, meanwhile, watches above the tallest vegetation for predators while the poults feed.

“A perfect example would be an alfalfa field that reaches a height of several inches.  You have protein rich vegetation that will attract a lot of bugs and reasonable cover for the poults,” said Backs.

Indiana’s wild turkey flock has grown considerably since the restoration program began in 1956.  The turkey hunting range also has expanded, and several record harvests have occurred.  This restoration success story has been the result of a lot of hard work from both state officials, NWTF volunteers and, perhaps, forest openings that have helped a few turkey poults grow older.

John Trout, Jr.