In colonial times the southern 4 counties of Vermont was home for Wild Turkeys...............Once the forest was felled for farming, Turkeys quickly fell off in numbers with the last Wild Turkey being extirpated from the state in the 1860's..........................In 1969, Vermont biologist Bill Drake decided that forest regeneration was at such a stage to begin to rewild the birds....................31 Turkeys taken from New York State in 1969 and 1970 have exponentially grown to some 55,000 Turkeys today in the Green Mountain State.............Even in the northern sections of the Vermont where the cold and snow was thought to be limiting factors, the combination of forest and field have become outstanding habitat for the birds...................Wild Turkeys are generalist eaters of all types of seeds, acorns, beechnuts and insects................White Pine Trees are critical roosts for the Turkeys when the cold and snow become severe.............With the asian imported wooly adelgid sucking insect killing hemlock trees, White Pines are necessary for the population to survive the Winter...........Turkeys have excellent vision and are extremely cautious and capable of escaping any and all predators............"However, everything eats turkey — even other birds who steal their eggs"............... "Once hatched, the babies(Poult's) are then prey to all sorts of smaller creatures who wouldn’t touch the bigger, older birds"................... “The first two weeks of a poult’s life are the most precarious,” says Dennis Jensen, outdoor editor at The Rutland Herald".................. "Besides predators, they are also vulnerable to starvation or exposure in a cold, wet spring".................. "A poult hatched in the spring will start out with around 11 siblings and by autumn will typically be down to about seven".................. "For full-grown turkeys, the predator pool is smaller, but they are still susceptible to coyotes, bobcats and other larger domestic cats"................... "Adults average 16-25 pounds, making them one of the largest birds in the United States, outweighing the bald eagle"............. “Once a tom’s survived two or three hunting seasons, it’s more likely he’s going to die of old age"

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It's Salad Days For Vermont's Wild Turkeys

By JANE LINDHOLM & RIC CENGERI • MAY 2, 2017

Wild turkeys were once extirpated from the Vermont landscape because of over-hunting and loss of forest land. Now they number somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000.

It all started with the introduction of 31 wild turkeys in Pawlet and Hubbardton. Today, they can be found all around the state.

Turkey roosting in tree to avoid the snow

Doug Blodgett, wildlife biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, discusses the efforts that led to the rebound in their population and the habits of the wild turkey.