Love this story! Turkeys are more agile and intelligent than most people realize, especially the wild ones. They belong there, glad at least they rebounded
Vermonter here who just turned 60. When I was a child we never saw turkeys. Now I see them just about every day. This is an incredible success story. Thank you.
A success story for turkeys; not so much for whippoorwills, quail, grouse who nested on the ground and whose eggs got eaten by these voracious turkeys. Hearing a drumming grouse off in the distance is no more, or the 'bob white' or sound of a whippoorwill at night. It's sad.
As an avid hunter from New Hampshire, it is crucial to understand what conservation and restoration programs have done to bring back one of North America’s native birds back to in the wild!!
The native american people never killed or ate turkey. It was TABOO. They kept them around with corn just like you for the same reasons plus they loved to collect their feathers when they moulted. Those days are over now. They all eat them.
Worked for Ontario Natural Resources when turkeys were reintroduced wild turkey to the province in early 1980s. They have overtaken most of the southern part, and creeping northward in their dispersal.
Funny thing about VT's Wild Turkey Program...It happened in an apple orchard that, when I was young, the owner raised White Domestic Turkeys in an older tractor barn. These Wild Turkey polts were kept in the same old barn that Mr H. grew out his big white turkeys and the State leased the orchard. Mr H had turkeys to reduce the insects affecting his apple produce and everyone in the city loved to drive up to the orchard, buy some apples and cidar Mr H would offer the customers. This was in Rutland County Vermont late 50's and early 60's...today the Vermont State is still leasing the orchard but the birds growing out are Pheasent & Rough Grouse.
I live within 20 miles of Vermont, in New Hampshire. We got plenty. But, I come from Connecticut very close to NYC (under 35 miles to Manhattan). As a child, I never saw a wild turkey. Since the 1990s, the turkeys in that area of Connecticut have been plentiful. The birds adapted, as the old farms became residential areas with some woods, and most people stopped hunting.
This is very fun and funny. I am new to Vermont. In CO we had no turkeys. I got some eastern wilds from a hatchery and raised them. Wildlife said oxygen levels were too low at altitude for eggs to hatch. But I had a half dozen nests that hatched out. My big gobbler Clinton, named after president Clinton, escaped. Six hens escaped too. Now 20 years later, we are overwhelmed by them. Tourists love to see them and tourists bring much needed revenue. The return of turkeys has been a lucrative and valuable success story.
I grew up in New England and can remember when it was rare to see a wild turkey, now it's a common occurrence to have them stopping traffic to cross a road, it's good to have them back.
The local farm vet said that reintroducing turkeys would kill the whippoorwills in our mountains. Turns out he was right. Beware the unintended consequences.
@@BrucePoole-z2n I have wondered but figure that they were hunted enough back in the day so numbers were kept reasonably balanced. Now there are more people who watch them and feed through the winter than hunters so I suppose the numbers went off before the other birds could be saved.
I had no idea there was a concerted effort to bring back turkeys. Did the turkeys that now live in Massachusetts and connecticut spread from vermont and New york, or were there introductions there, too?
This is a testament to wildlife biologists then and now. They work at dangerous jobs for little pay. They do it because they love wildlife, and as a public service.
Hard to believe turkey's could be wiped out, I went out to let the dogs go potty this Thanksgiving afternoon and there were a dozen turkey's in the yard.
As a kid growing up in Southern Ontario in the 60’s and 70’s I didn’t know what a Wild Turkey was. To be fare there weren’t that many deer either, now it seems they are everywhere. Other wildlife that has returned or shown up over those past 40 or 50 years(some not necessarily welcomed), are Cormorants, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Beaver, Opossum, and Pelicans.
Love this story! Turkeys are more agile and intelligent than most people realize, especially the wild ones. They belong there, glad at least they rebounded
Vermonter here who just turned 60. When I was a child we never saw turkeys. Now I see them just about every day. This is an incredible success story. Thank you.
A success story for turkeys; not so much for whippoorwills, quail, grouse who nested on the ground and whose eggs got eaten by these voracious turkeys. Hearing a drumming grouse off in the distance is no more, or the 'bob white' or sound of a whippoorwill at night. It's sad.
As an avid hunter from New Hampshire, it is crucial to understand what conservation and restoration programs have done to bring back one of North America’s native birds back to in the wild!!
I have up to 30 wild turkeys on my property. Feed them corn kernels twice a day. Beautiful birds and they eat the insects like ticks, etc..
The native american people never killed or ate turkey. It was TABOO. They kept them around with corn just like you for the same reasons plus they loved to collect their feathers when they moulted. Those days are over now. They all eat them.
@@inharmonywithearth9982 Nonsense.
Delightful and ecologically impactful story - thanks for brings it to YT!
Thank you 🙏🏻 biologists
Worked for Ontario Natural Resources when turkeys were reintroduced wild turkey to the province in early 1980s. They have overtaken most of the southern part, and creeping northward in their dispersal.
Funny thing about VT's Wild Turkey Program...It happened in an apple orchard that, when I was young, the owner raised White Domestic Turkeys in an older tractor barn. These Wild Turkey polts were kept in the same old barn that Mr H. grew out his big white turkeys and the State leased the orchard. Mr H
had turkeys to reduce the insects affecting his apple produce and everyone in the city loved to drive up to the orchard, buy some apples and cidar Mr H
would offer the customers. This was in Rutland County Vermont late 50's and early 60's...today the Vermont State is still leasing the orchard but the birds
growing out are Pheasent & Rough Grouse.
I live within 20 miles of Vermont, in New Hampshire. We got plenty.
But, I come from Connecticut very close to NYC (under 35 miles to Manhattan). As a child, I never saw a wild turkey. Since the 1990s, the turkeys in that area of Connecticut have been plentiful. The birds adapted, as the old farms became residential areas with some woods, and most people stopped hunting.
They pardoned those turkeys to Vermont
My cousin did the same thing in Kansas in the 1980's
You and your friend are leaving a good legacy
This explains why all the turkeys are all jaywalking jerks! They’re from NY!
Thank you!
Turkeys were also reintroduced into Massachusetts around the same time.
Saw them 30 years ago in Maine!
Thank you, New York State.
This is very fun and funny. I am new to Vermont. In CO we had no turkeys. I got some eastern wilds from a hatchery and raised them. Wildlife said oxygen levels were too low at altitude for eggs to hatch. But I had a half dozen nests that hatched out. My big gobbler Clinton, named after president Clinton, escaped. Six hens escaped too. Now 20 years later, we are overwhelmed by them. Tourists love to see them and tourists bring much needed revenue. The return of turkeys has been a lucrative and valuable success story.
A flock of ~8 turkeys walked across my lawn yesterday.
Turkeys made a big comeback in Missouri, but are being threatened in some areas by corporate farming.
Infustrial farming is destroying our wildlife
nice story!
Great story! I see their descendants from time to time. 😊
I grew up in New England and can remember when it was rare to see a wild turkey, now it's a common occurrence to have them stopping traffic to cross a road, it's good to have them back.
The local farm vet said that reintroducing turkeys would kill the whippoorwills in our mountains. Turns out he was right. Beware the unintended consequences.
Turkeys are native so it should balance out
@@BrucePoole-z2n Too late for most of the ground nesting birds. There aren't any to balance out. Nice idea though.
@ how did it work before turkeys were hunted out?
@@BrucePoole-z2n I have wondered but figure that they were hunted enough back in the day so numbers were kept reasonably balanced. Now there are more people who watch them and feed through the winter than hunters so I suppose the numbers went off before the other birds could be saved.
I had no idea there was a concerted effort to bring back turkeys. Did the turkeys that now live in Massachusetts and connecticut spread from vermont and New york, or were there introductions there, too?
New York turkeys were reintroduced from captured flocks from PA.
You are a good person ❤.
This is a testament to wildlife biologists then and now. They work at dangerous jobs for little pay. They do it because they love wildlife, and as a public service.
Should do a story on the ceremonial stone landscapes of Vermont, created by the Abenaki people before European contact.
Awesome recovery story, similar to Minnesota
In spots of Minnesota they are over populated. At times we see flocks of 200 or more.
Hard to believe turkey's could be wiped out, I went out to let the dogs go potty this Thanksgiving afternoon and there were a dozen turkey's in the yard.
Habitat destruction and over-hunting.
@@lazygardens Mostly loss of nesting and brooding sites due to conversion to farmland.
Turkeys have made a real comeback where I live ,but all the pheasants disappeared 40 years ago.
You should see the Turkeys in Ontario that we received in trade for moose from the Great State of Michigan !
As a kid growing up in Southern Ontario in the 60’s and 70’s I didn’t know what a Wild Turkey was. To be fare there weren’t that many deer either, now it seems they are everywhere. Other wildlife that has returned or shown up over those past 40 or 50 years(some not necessarily welcomed), are Cormorants, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Beaver, Opossum, and Pelicans.
Want some Canadian Grey geese, too? We got loads to send ya.
They are probaly the old relative of the Wolf Turkey in Quebec.
IMHO they ate all the ruffled grouse nests and chicks same as NH
Nice success story.
❤
Thats some jive ass 🇹🇷