Brood Habitat Use by Eastern Wild Turkeys in Eastern Texas

We used radio telemetry to study habitat use by eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) females with broods on intensively managed pine (Pinus spp.) forest land in eastern Texas in 1980 and 1981. We sampled habitat at 550 locations for 9 females with broods 1-114 days old and 164 randomly located plots. Females with broods _30 days old selected (P _ 0.10) pole-timber in upland areas and broods >30 days old selected sawtimber in bottomland areas. Low timber stocking, low density of midstory trees, abundant herbaceous ground cover, and control burned areas were selected (P 0.10) by all broods. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 53(2):479-482 Quality of habitat for turkeys is often assessed by winter carrying capacity; however, habitat quality during the brood-rearing season (spring and summer) may be more important in limiting wild turkey populations (Hillestad and Speake 1970). Hurst (1981) emphasized that information on habitat preferences of turkeys is available; however, specific habitat characteristics have not been adequately measured or quantified. Our objective was to assess habitat characteristics for eastern wild turkey females with broods on intensively managed pine forest land in eastern Texas. Temple-Eastex Incorporated, Diboll, Texas, allowed us to use the study area. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Conservation supplied turkeys for the study. Funding was provided by the Wildlife Management Institute, American Petroleum Institute, Caesar Kleberg Research Foundation, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Federal Aid Project W-108-R-4. This is Article TA-22949 of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Texas A&M University.