08-02-2025
Turkey turnaround: Birds were once a rare sight
Turkeys used to be found on the dinner table more often than in the Minnesota wild.
'It used to be there were no turkeys, and the first time I saw some I was like 'wow,'' said local naturalist Stan Tekiela.
The avid bird watcher was guiding a group of people, who were also amazed to see a flock of turkeys. That was sometime after 1971, when the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources began to trap and transport wild turkeys from out of state into Minnesota.
Over time, the department confined the trapping part of the project to wild turkeys living within the state. In 2009, the DNR released the last group of turkeys and now estimate there are over 30,000 turkeys living in Minnesota.
What used to be a rare sight, is now common for Tekiela and his Victoria neighbors. Some residents like to leave feed for the animals in their backyards and count how many pass by.
Tekiela said the animals are commonly found in the suburbs, in part because hunters don't stake out near homes. Additionally, the Minnesota River Valley has a lot of oak trees that produce acorns – a food item wild turkeys survive on during the fall. The trees in the area are also good places for turkeys to 'roost' and sleep in.
BIRD ATTACK
Problems can arise when humans wearing bright colors approach gobblers (male turkeys) during the spring, said Nicole Davros, upland project game leader for the DNR.
The birds will jump on a human and try to hurt them with their spurs – claws on their legs. According to Davros, those spurs are like small knives and can cause injuries.
During the spring season, gobblers show their bright feathers to attract a female. So when a human sports bright colors, turkeys believe they're a competitor, she explained. Davros recalls seeing a video of a turkey attacking a red car and added that turkeys see color very well.
Problems in rural areas arise when wild turkeys find their way into stored grains on farms. But usually turkeys will forage for waste grain on agricultural lands, she added.
APPRECIATION
There's also a plus side to turkeys, Davros said.
'It can bring a community together and give them an appreciation for wildlife,' Davros said. 'We don't want to encourage people to do that type of thing, but if that's the bit of nature that people experience, that's a good thing.'
For Tekiela, turkeys are still an amazing sight.
'It's wonderful to see the species come back as part of our natural occurrence of birds nowadays,' Tekiela said.
'Most people like having wildlife around their homes, that's why bird feeding is (popular). That's one of those things that deep inside of us – we like to have animals around.'
ENDANGERED
Turkeys are fitting for a Thanksgiving dinner, because they symbolized the New World, much like corn and pumpkins.
'Turkeys are a native species to North America and being a big ground bird they've always been important to humans because turkeys were abundant,' said Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife populations program manager. The pilgrims and Native Americans probably hunted them because they were big and easy to catch, he added.
However, due to unregulated hunting and the loss of forested habitat, turkey populations declined in the state. According to the DNR website, the last native turkey in Minnesota was spotted in 1880.
Repopulation efforts initially began in the 1920s, but it wasn't until the 1971 transport and transplant project, that their numbers started to notably increase.
The birds – that were originally native to the southeastern corner of the state – have now spread as far as northern Minnesota. Their limiting factor was initially thought to be cold temperatures, Tekiela said. However, it turned out that snow cover limited how far the turkeys spread, so turkeys stick to areas with less snow so they can forage for food during the winter, he explained.
HUNTING
Wild turkey hunting has been a tradition for those living in the southeastern part of Minnesota for a number of decades, however since the turkey's increased population, that tradition is spreading to other parts of Minnesota.
The DNR issues a limited number of permits during the spring season – the traditional time hunters look for turkeys in the state.
'Springtime hunting is a different type of hunting. You can call them in with a call, that's what makes it exciting,' Merchant said. Usually male turkeys are hunted during that season, he added.
'You have to be in the woods before the sun gets up,' Davros said, adding that hunters have to be very still. 'To see the forest come alive – I think that's what keeps people coming and hunting.'
During the spring, hunters will imitate a female turkey's call to attract a gobbler to lure the birds.
Hunters typically purchase a turkey permit in the fall just in case they see one while hunting deer, Davros and Merchant said.
They noted that in the fall, turkeys tend to not wander from their flocks.
The DNR restricts hunting to one turkey per year. The spring season goes from about mid-April to the end of May, Merchant said. The fall permits only allows hunting in the month of October.
When it comes to hunting wild turkeys, the DNR is still taking a 'cautious approach' to the once-rare species in the state.
'It's similar in nature to the deer hunting,' Nelson said. '[Traditionally] both animals were important for humans. In order for people to survive they needed to harvest animals like that, and that tradition continues today through the tradition of hunting.'
