NYs turkey populations are low but stable as spring turkey hunting season opens May 1 [Video]

The regular spring turkey season opens May 1 and runs through May 31 in Upstate New York north of the Bronx-Westchester County line, and also in Suffolk County on Long Island. The bag limit is two bearded birds, one per day.

New York’s spring turkey harvest averages between 16,000 to 18,000 birds, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation. But that number varies based on the number of hunters afield, as well as turkey productivity in the previous few springs.

This spring, DEC expects an improved turkey harvest compared to last year. Since hunters prefer to take toms (two+ year-old birds), there’s typically a two-year lag between summer productivity and spring take.

Turkey population trends

Overall, the state’s turkey populations are lower compared to the early 2000s. But population estimates that rely solely on hunter harvest data are “not the best way to manage wildlife,” said Joshua Twining, a postdoctoral research scientist at …