Don't believe it?

[Cutt]

Read a NWTF article on gobbling birds on pressured land and unpressured land. Basically concluded birds learn to gobble less on pressured land vs. unpressured land, which I tend to agree. But have a hard time believing the last sentence of the article?

"The study suggests that the hunted birds negatively associate gobbling with seeing other turkeys being shot or learning that not all calling is coming from hens, but from hunters nearby."

[Terry]

I don't buy it either. They aren't that smart.

[Jbird22]

I think they can discern too much calling being uncommon from what they're used to but that statement seems to be a bit of a stretch.

[tomstopper]

I think they can discern too much calling being uncommon from what they're used to but that statement seems to be a bit of a stretch.

^^This.....

[Spring_Woods]

I don't buy it either. They aren't that smart.

+2

They aren't smart. Being weary does not equal smart.

[budtripp]

Yeah I agree they are not intelligent at all. I also laugh when I hear people talk about how smart deer are but thats a whole other story.

[howl]

Doesn't seem like the kind of statement a biologist would make.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

Any wild animal has an environmental baseline where they are conditioned to  learn what a normal level of intrusion/disturbance is.

Whether it's a mature buck or a gobbler, the more intrusion and unnatural interaction with danger an animal encounters, the more it will adjust its behavior in response.

The best hunters know their quarry are sensitive to intrusion, disrupt their quarry the least and subsequently have the best hunting based on normal behavior patterns.

Too bad the majority of hunters never figure that out. That's why public land is such a sh$t show.

[jblackburn]

Being smart is not the issue.  Any animal can be conditioned.  If land is highly pressured, individual birds can associated loud, aggressive calling (what lots of hunters do) with danger.  Intelligence is not the question.

That said, I'm on the fence as to how much I buy into what the article claims.

[drenalinld]

It is simple really. Some birds really like to gobble, some not as much. On pressured land those that really like to gobble get killed. Less gobbling comes from less birds less competition and mouthy strains being killed out.

[paboxcall]

It is simple really. Some birds really like to gobble, some not as much. On pressured land those that really like to gobble get killed. Less gobbling comes from less birds less competition and mouthy strains being killed out.

This, plus add in the time of the breeding cycle - early, middle, end - and that will influence the gobbler's inclination to gobble.  Even a bird you patterned, and know to be mouthy, will probably keep quiet when he wakes up with a half dozen hens or so around him in the roost tree.  After the hens go to nest, then he will likely get mouthy again.

Turkeys hear other turkeys 365 days a year cluck and purr softly, and cutt and cackle wildly.  To essentially suggest a turkey would hear a string of yelps and think to himself "oh no, sounds like a predator that learned to mimic our vocalizations, I'm going the other way" is absurd.

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

It is simple really. Some birds really like to gobble, some not as much. On pressured land those that really like to gobble get killed. Less gobbling comes from less birds less competition and mouthy strains being killed out.

This, plus add in the time of the breeding cycle - early, middle, end - and that will influence the gobbler's inclination to gobble.  Even a bird you patterned, and know to be mouthy, will probably keep quiet when he wakes up with a half dozen hens or so around him in the roost tree.  After the hens go to nest, then he will likely get mouthy again.

Turkeys hear other turkeys 365 days a year cluck and purr softly, and cutt and cackle wildly.  To essentially suggest a turkey would hear a string of yelps and think to himself "oh no, sounds like a predator that learned to mimic our vocalizations, I'm going the other way" is absurd.

I hunted a bird this morning that has been called in 4x and shot at once last Saturday.  I only used a wing to simulate 2 flydowns while I was 75 yards from him and then scratched in the leaves.  He lost his mind to all of that but still knew to fly the other way and carry on his business by himself.

I yelped at him once he flew down 150 yards away from me.  He gobbled 2x on the ground and that was it.

They wise up once the pressure gets on them and I think some are conditioned to disassociate themselves with calling.

[paboxcall]

It is simple really. Some birds really like to gobble, some not as much. On pressured land those that really like to gobble get killed. Less gobbling comes from less birds less competition and mouthy strains being killed out.

This, plus add in the time of the breeding cycle - early, middle, end - and that will influence the gobbler's inclination to gobble.  Even a bird you patterned, and know to be mouthy, will probably keep quiet when he wakes up with a half dozen hens or so around him in the roost tree.  After the hens go to nest, then he will likely get mouthy again.

Turkeys hear other turkeys 365 days a year cluck and purr softly, and cutt and cackle wildly.  To essentially suggest a turkey would hear a string of yelps and think to himself "oh no, sounds like a predator that learned to mimic our vocalizations, I'm going the other way" is absurd.

I hunted a bird this morning that has been called in 4x and shot at once last Saturday.  I only used a wing to simulate 2 flydowns while I was 75 yards from him and then scratched in the leaves.  He lost his mind to all of that but still knew to fly the other way and carry on his business by himself.

I yelped at him once he flew down 150 yards away from me.  He gobbled 2x on the ground and that was it.

They wise up once the pressure gets on them and I think some are conditioned to disassociate themselves with calling.

I don't disagree birds will respond to pressure, just like a mature buck will change his habits.

But that same gobbler you mention, if he's been around enough years, has also been jumped, chased and run down by countless predators, countless of times, while he was on his way to his brood hen yelping, on his way to his flock mates kee-keeing, and on his way to mature hens yelping and cutting for mating. 

One bad day isn't going to change his behavior as this article suggests.  Everyday is a bad day for a turkey.  He's always today's special on every predator's breakfast, lunch and dinner menu.

[FL-Boss]

Deer learning.. yes. Mature bucks in my area are pretty much nocturnal once the general gun, and dog running season comes out.... believe me they know. I run camera's 24x7x365 on my land ... so I know as well.  Bow season (rut) entirely different story.

Turkey.. don't think so.  Turkey's are all about today and "right now"  They don't care about yesterday.. and don't care about tomorrow.  Do some of them behave different?  Yes, just the same way we do. 

[Triple B]

Any wild animal has an environmental baseline where they are conditioned to  learn what a normal level of intrusion/disturbance is.

Whether it's a mature buck or a gobbler, the more intrusion and unnatural interaction with danger an animal encounters, the more it will adjust its behavior in response.

The best hunters know their quarry are sensitive to intrusion, disrupt their quarry the least and subsequently have the best hunting based on normal behavior patterns.

Too bad the majority of hunters never figure that out. That's why public land is such a sh$t show.

I agree. Like the clown I heard the first 2 days of the season doing the same 3 clucks and 2 yelps at least 50 times in the first 2 hrs. To say he disrupted his quarry would be an understatement.