Need Wild Turkey 'displaying' information

[jckegley]

I was thinking about going to Cades Cove Easter weekend (March 22-24) to try to capture a gobbler 'displaying'.

What are my odds that the turkeys are 'displaying' at Cades Cove? In SC I think they typically do the show in late March and early April. Is it the same for the mountains?

I keep thinking that the mountain area might run a couple of weeks behind.

Anyone with this knowledge will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Cades Cove Wild Turkey (http://www.wildlifesouth.com/Locations/Tennessee/CadesCove.html)

[rpk717]

Hi Joe,

I see turkeys all the time, saw the first gobbler displaying last week on the SRS. We have a lot of turkeys, I see several almost every day on the way home from work.

You're probably right about the delay in the mountains, they are probably at least several weeks and probably more than a month behind the "flatlanders" I see. On the other hand once they start you'll have at least a month or two to catch them.

Robert

[jckegley]

Thanks Robert.

It's all a timing issue. I get Good Friday as a holiday... therefore I have extra time for a trip. I thought about Cades Cove because you can frequently get close to turkeys via the 'automobile blind'.

Just not sure the turkeys would be displaying during the Easter break at Cades Cove.

Thanks for the info on the SC lowcountry turkeys too. I had no idea that they were already displaying. I learn something new from this CNPA site all the time.

[debrown]

What is the "SRS"?

[jckegley]

I think Robert is referring to the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site.

Usually these government sites are located on huge tracks of land that are undeveloped except for the facility. Because of this, the sites indirectly become a refuge for wildlife. The DOE sites in Oak Ridge TN are like that. There are tons of deer and turkey around the Oak Ridge plants.

[rpk717]

Sorry, I haven't come back to see there was a question. Joe is right SRS is the Savannah River Site where I work. There is 310 square miles of land that has been closed off from the public since the 1950's. If you do a Google Earth of the area you will see a large green plot of land surrounded by cultivated property.

I have taken several groups there for photography but since 9/11 I don't go much any more and probably couldn't get non-badged folks onsite today. I have permission but with several hundred guards I spend more time explaining to those who see me out with a large camera what I am doing and who said I could be there, it's not worth the hassle.

It is amazing what we have seen and/or photographed at the site. Killdeer on a nest, Chuck-Wills-Widow on a nest, deer, alligators, bobcat, turkeys, wild pigs, egrets, anhingas, eagles, fox squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, possums, armadillos, and the biggest prize the black puma.

[jckegley]

Did you see the black puma? I am assuming that is the same as a cougar. Also do you think think that is an exotic that escaped from someones private big cat collection?

I have heard John Grego talk about a cougar siting near the SRS.

[rpk717]

Did you see the black puma? I am assuming that is the same as a cougar. Also do you think think that is an exotic that escaped from someones private big cat collection?

I have heard John Grego talk about a cougar siting near the SRS.

Actually both Lisel and I have seen one. My sighting was about 18 years ago but Lisel saw hers a few years ago. What the biologists say is that it is not a permanent population but individuals that go up and down the Savannah River. I know many people at work who have seen them. The Ecology Lab had just begun a study on the pumas at the site but DOE pulled the funding and I'm sure that study was canceled. :mad:

[Photobiologist]

Yep, the gobblers should be strutting in Cades Cove about now. They are a bit behind birds from further south, and they probably won't be at their peak, but many of the gobblers should be trying to impress the hens.

I've had pretty good luck with turkey observations at Cataloochee (just north of Maggie Valley, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) the last couple times we've been up there in the spring as well.

[jckegley]

Yep, the gobblers should be strutting in Cades Cove about now. They are a bit behind birds from further south, and they probably won't be at their peak, but many of the gobblers should be trying to impress the hens.

I've had pretty good luck with turkey observations at Cataloochee (just north of Maggie Valley, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) the last couple times we've been up there in the spring as well.

Thanks for the word on Cataloochee, that is a much better drive for me from Charlotte.. 3 hrs to get to the valley in the park versus 5 hours for Cades Cove.