dead turkeys in the North East

[jordanz7935]

Yea im afraid we're going to have a winterkill here in Upstate NY on both deer and turkeys. We still have almost 2" of snow here. Ive put a lot of miles on my snowmobile this week just riding with a few buddies locally around the area. A lot of the deer we've been seeing look to be in pretty rough shape. Been seeing a lot of them out in the open fields eating from round bales that have been left out by farmers. Its just hard for them to outrun predators in these conditions especially after this long cold winter. Turkey sightings have honestly been few and far in between.And up here where i live its prime farm country for the most part. We've run into one flock in the last 4 days of riding snowmobile. Hopefully im just not seein em because theyre sticking tight to the few food sources they have. Im afraid we wont see the results of last years good hatch due to this years winterkill.

[chatterbox]

I have not seen a bird or deer in over a month.
The problem is not just the snow, but the brutal cold. Animals can usually handle these conditions when they are separate, but when you put them together it is bad news.
Usually, when we get the snow, it warms up. Hasn't been the case this time. I have heard Fish and Game have a formula for winter kill and it has to do with X amount of days below 0. Obviously, the more days below, the worse it is.
I believe the winter kill will be much higher than normal. We have had the 2nd coldest February since records were kept. This February the avg. was 12.1 degrees. Only the strongest could live through 28 days of that.
Hopefully, March will warm up. These poor animals need a break.
I am not very optimistic for our spring.

[zelmo1]

Going to check on the flock this morning, wish me luck

[chatterbox]

Good luck! Keep us posted. I might bring my owl call with me tomorrow, and see if I can urge a gobble or two!