Turkeys Gone Wild

Underdogs of the North Country

Story by Alan Fanitzi

The North Country is home to a diverse selection of birds, such as owls, loons, hawks, and falcons. Among this vast selection of winged creatures, there is one bird that is often overlooked in the Adirondacks, except for that one time of year when you look for it during Thanksgiving dinner. This animal, of course, is the wild turkey, a creature that belongs in forests, fields and sandwiches around the U.S.

The North Country is also, for a couple of long months, home to an extremely wicked winter that, as many already know, kills off much of the outdoor environment. Fortunately for the wild turkey, they have some tricks to cope with this threat. After all, they do come from some tough ancestors.

“Snow hinders turkeys’ abilities to survive when it does not have a crust layer on top for them to walk on."

Wild turkeys are direct decedents of prehistoric beasts, and are from the same family as the Tyrannosaurs Rex. Today’s wild turkeys descended from a group of predatory dinosaurs called theropods which, as time went by, evolved into smaller creatures with feathers and eventually turned into the creature that hunters are so fond of every season.

Turkeys descended from a group of top predatory dinosaurs. However, unlike their theropod relatives who lived and thrived in a humid prehistoric climate, today’s wild turkeys have their own adversary—winter.

We see turkeys all year ’round, but how exactly do they survive the brutal cold of the Adirondack winters? According to T.R Michaels, a hunter and outdoor writer, turkeys have some natural shielding of their own that protects them from winters crushing cold. Michaels says that the wild turkeys have the ability to “fluff up” their feathers. This creates “dead air space that keeps warm air close to their bodies,” said Michaels. This works the same way as a warm winter jacket. Michaels also explained that this allows the wild turkey to survive in places as far north as Southern Canada, a place where winter thrives with temperatures easily dropping below zero degrees.

“Snow hinders turkeys’ abilities to survive when it does not have a crust layer on top for them to walk on.”

Following the cold comes the chilling winter wind, which drops the already cold weather down even more. This is winter’s deadly two-hit combo that wild turkeys need to roll with as well. “As long as they can find shelter from the wind (as in the downwind side of a hill or woods) to reduce wind chill factors, and have enough forage to maintain body heat, they can survive in cold weather,” says Michaels. Even with a brain the size of a ping-pong ball, wild turkeys still know enough to find places that protect them from the wind.

It is not a big surprise that, given the wild turkey’s ability to store heat within their feathers, they can survive the winter months more easily. But the cold weather and winds are only a part of winter's chilling weapons. Snow has as much of an effect on wild turkeys in the North Country as much as the temperature does.

Doug Little, a regional biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation says, “Snow hinders turkeys’ abilities to survive when it does not have a crust layer on top for them to walk on.” Deep snow causes the most problems for wild turkeys; too much snow on the ground makes it difficult for them to properly stay on two feet. Imagine yourself walking to a neighbor’s house fifty feet away in 3-5 inches of snow. When you finally get there, your legs feel exhausted, and all you want to do is relax. This is similar to what wild turkeys go through, except they don’t get a break until spring. 

It may seem like winter has the upper hand in this fight for survival, but wild turkeys still find some cheap tricks to slip through winter’s chilling fingertips. According to Little, wild turkeys have only a couple of weeks to live in the deep snow before they start to die, that is, of course, if they have enough food in their bodies. If, by any chance, the wild turkey spots a conifer stand, they may have the upper hand against their winter enemy. These plants act as a type of snow filter; falling snow gets caught in the branches, leaving space underneath for the turkey to roam around more easily. Another bonus is that with these trees nearby, food is also.  

Winter has a tendency to kill off most plants, so food sources for wild turkeys are hard to come by. Ron Lafreniere from the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department says that wild turkeys have a tendency to travel across many miles in order to be close to working farms. If they find one, they have access to grains that provide carbohydrates to the wild turkey. More carbs equals more body mass/energy, and with more body mass and energy, the better condition turkeys are in to make it through the winter.

Winter is a nasty adversary for wild turkeys; it has snow, wind, and cold at its disposal. Thankfully, wild turkeys, with their small brains and some luck, can outsmart winter’s weapons and make it through to spring.

Do you spot wild turkeys roaming around by your home?