HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania wildlife officials are turning to the public to help solve one of the Commonwealth’s most important conservation puzzles: where the wild turkeys are gathering this winter.
The Game Commission is asking residents across the state to report turkey flocks they spot through March 15, feeding a statewide research effort that uses the sightings to locate birds for winter trapping and banding. Reports can be submitted online at https://pgcforms.pa.gov/TurkeySightingSurvey.
Participants are asked to log the date, location, and whether the birds were seen on public or private land — information that allows biologists to pinpoint flocks that can safely be trapped and studied.
Once a site is identified, Game Commission crews move in to capture male turkeys, fit them with leg bands, and release them on the spot. The birds are not relocated. The winter banding program, now in its seventh season, is a cornerstone of the agency’s effort to monitor turkey populations and hunting pressure across Pennsylvania.
“By reporting banded turkeys, hunters provide us with important information on harvest rates for our population model,” said Reina Tyl, the Game Commission’s wild turkey biologist. “In return, the hunter gets to learn when and approximately where the turkey was banded. If the turkey was banded the first winter after it hatched, we can also provide the hunter with an exact age of the turkey they harvested.”
Hunters who later harvest a banded turkey — or anyone who finds one dead — are urged to report the band number through the Game Commission’s toll-free number or online reporting system. The data helps wildlife managers calculate survival and harvest rates, which are used to set hunting seasons and conservation strategies.
Although no turkeys will be fitted with tracking transmitters this winter — as several long-running research projects have wrapped up — the banding of males will continue to provide critical insight into population trends.
Finding birds to band, however, depends heavily on public cooperation.
Over the past four winters, the Winter Turkey Sighting Survey has become a vital tool for locating trappable flocks, often leading crews directly to active roosting and feeding areas.
“The public has been so helpful,” Tyl said. “Some landowners who reported flocks on their property have also helped with monitoring flock activity and have participated in trapping. We look forward to continuing this collaboration this winter.”
With wild turkeys spread across forests, fields, and backyards throughout the Commonwealth, state officials say every sighting brings them one step closer to understanding how the iconic birds are faring — and how to keep their numbers strong for generations to come.
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