Spring Turkey Calling; Family
Relationship and Social Status
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
During my latest turkey
seminar I began to realize that the average hunter rarely thinks
about how family relationship and social status relate to the
calls turkeys use in the spring, or how understanding how these
relationships should affect which calls hunters use to call
turkeys. So, let's examine the makeup of spring turkey flocks.
Many hunters may not realize that the hen flocks they see in the
spring or not just a bunch of hens. What these flocks normally are
made up of is one or more adult hens with their year-old female
offspring. And the adult hens may also be related. This means that
much of the calling being done is between the adult hen and her
offspring, between the offspring, and between the adult hens. It
also means that most of the birds in the flock know each other's
voices, particularly the hens and their own offspring.
Much of the calling
hunters hear in the spring is used to keep the families, and the
flock together. Many of these calls fall into the Social Contact
and Maternal/Neonatal Calls category. Let's review some of these
calls.
Hen "Family" Calls
The Yelp is often the
first sound of the day, a soft, nasal, three to five note call
performed while the birds are on the roost before daylight. It is
a soft chirp-chirp-chirp ... chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp, or a
variation. There are usually three to four notes per second, with
each note being about .08 seconds in length. This call is used by
a bird when it is telling the others it is awake and asking if
there are other birds nearby and awake. In the case of spring
turkeys, it is often one of the female family members asking if
the other family members are still there. I use this call in the
morning to see if the birds are still on the roost.
The Assembly Yelp is used
by the hen to regroup the young, and this probably carries over to
some extent in spring calling. This call usually consists of six
to ten or more evenly spaced yelps that are loud and sharp, with
two to four notes per second, and each note lasting from .12 to
.20 seconds. I often hear hens make a loud, long series of yelps
while they are on the strut during the breeding phase. I am not
sure if this is an Assembly Yelp or a Lost Yelp. But, I do know
that toms often show up in areas where hens are making this call.
I use Lost Yelps and Assembly Yelps to get a tom fired up on the
roost, and to keep it coming once it is on the ground.
The Lost Yelp is much like
the Plain Yelp, but it is often used by female offspring to locate
their mother in the spring, particularly after the hens have been
bred and begun nesting. When they return to traditional
feeding/strutting areas they often try to regroup with each other.
This may call contain twenty or more notes, and it becomes louder
toward the end of the call. The bird's voice may “break” as it
tries to make the call as loud as possible, which causes it to
have a raspy sound. There may be from three to four notes per
second, with each note lasting .10 to .15 seconds.
Hen Flock Social
Contact Calls
Adult turkeys use many
different yelps and clucks to keep in contact in different
situations. Most yelps are the same as the "Here I am, where are
you?" call of geese and other flocking birds, which is used to
keep the birds in contact with each other. These calls are
basically variations of the hen "family" calls.
The Plain Yelp is
performed when turkeys are within seeing distance of each other.
It often consists of three to nine notes, all on the same pitch
and of the same volume, with three to four notes per second, and
each note lasting .08 to .10 seconds; chirp, chirp, chirp.
I use this call when toms are up close, or within seeing distance
of the decoys.
The Plain Cluck is
used by turkeys to get the visual attention of another bird. It is
primarily a close range contact call, again saying "Here am I,
where are you?" A bird making this call wants to hear another bird
make the same call so they can get together. It is a sharp, short
sound, similar to the alarm putt but not as loud or as insistent;
tut...tut. The notes of the cluck are often separated by as
much as three seconds, which distinguishes it from the faster,
closely spaced Fast Cutt. I often hear hens use several soft
Clucks and Purrs while they are feeding. It sounds like putt,
putt, putt, errr, putt .... putt, putt, putt, errr. I use this
call when a tom hangs up nearby, or to stop it for a shot.
The Fast Cutt, or
Cutting, is one turkey using the "Here I am, where are you?" but
telling the other bird "If we are going to get together you have
to come to me." It is a loud insistent call, and the notes are
strung together in bursts of two's and three's, with about a
second between bursts. It sounds like; TUT...TUT...TUT, TUT.
TUT .TUT, TUT...TUT...TUT, TUT...TUT... TUT, TUT... TUT, or
any variation of clucks. The rhythm is somewhat like the Flying
Cackle, and I have used a Flying Cackle to get a tom to “shock
gobble.” I also use this call to bring in a tom that hangs up.
Male Groups; Family and
Social Contact Calls
Hunters may also not
realize that the males in a tom or jake group may also be
related. Since dominance, or social status, is often established
when the birds are growing up, and because there is very little
squabbling for social status between family members (because
social status is already established), it is easy to see how male
turkeys who are brothers may stay together as long as the live.
Again this means they know the voices of each other. So, they
often use the same social contact calls the hens use, except they
generally have deeper voices. And because they are males and do
not separate to go off and lay eggs, they rarely use the "family
calls" such as the Assembly Yelp and the Lost Yelp, or the Fast
Cluck. The may use Tree Yelps and Plain Yelps to help them remain
in contact with each other.
What this all boils down
to is that it is difficult for a hunter to convince a turkey it is
a member of its family or flock. However, this doesn't mean
calling won't work, because you can use hen calls to call toms,
and you can use aggressive hen calls, such as a Fighting Purr, to
call in hen groups. What it does mean is that hunter should
"think" about what they are trying to simulate when they call,
and use the appropriate calls to accomplish their task.
If you are interested in
more turkey hunting tips, or more biology and behavior, click on
Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips
at
www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about turkeys log on
to the T.R.'s Tips message board.
This article contains
excerpts from the Turkey Addict's Manual ($19.95 + $5.00 S&H), by
T.R. Michels.
T.R.
Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife
behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the
Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's
Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition of
the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books
and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain
Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone:
507-824-3296,
E-mail:
TRMichels@yahoo.com ,
Internet Site:
www.TRMichels.com
