Contribute to Wild Turkey Research—Report Your Winter Turkey Flock Observations

CONTACT:
Dan Ellingwood
Phone: (603) 352-9669
Email: Daniel.D.Ellingwood@wildlife.nh.gov
December 2, 2025

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is asking the public to help document flocks of wild turkeys this winter by participating in the 2025-26 Winter Turkey Flock Survey. The survey runs from December 1 through March 31. Information regarding the status of wintering wild turkeys is important because severe weather and limited natural food supplies can present serious challenges for turkeys. It’s fun and easy to participate by visiting www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wild-turkeys-new-hampshire/turkey-surveys.

The Department conducts the Winter Turkey Flock Survey each year to monitor wild turkey abundance, distribution, survival, food shortage, and disease prevalence. Additionally, this winter the Wildlife Division is initiating a multi-year turkey research project across the state; reports through this survey will be helpful in locating winter flocks to further this research effort. With support from the National Wild Turkey Federation, biologists will be trapping and leg banding wild turkeys to collect vital information on turkey population dynamics in New Hampshire. “Leg bands fitted on birds through this project will allow biologists to measure regional harvest rates,” said Dan Ellingwood, Turkey Project Leader with New Hampshire Fish and Game. “The rate of recovery of these bands on harvested birds will be used to validate indices used to monitor turkey population trends and to refine population estimates, strengthening long-term population management decision making.”

Residents with turkeys regularly using their property who are interested in supporting this research by allowing trapping on their property are asked to indicate so on the survey form and will be contacted by Department staff. All turkeys will be released on location immediately after banding.

In recent years, an average of 910 flocks and 16,488 turkeys have been reported through the Winter Flock Survey. Flock reports vary annually; during winters with less snow, birds are not as confined and congregate less around localized food sources, resulting in fewer reports. During more severe winters, however, turkeys will congregate at available food sources such as backyard birdfeeders, and flocks become more visible, increasing reporting rates.

The state’s current turkey population, estimated to be 48,000 birds, represents a modest (+6%) rebound from the year prior. This increase is largely the result of improved nesting success during the spring and summer of 2024, associated with favorable weather conditions during the nesting season. “Participation by the public in both the Winter Flock Survey and the Summer Brood Survey greatly help biologists continue to annually track population trends,” said Ellingwood.

Wild turkey management and research is made possible by the federal Wildlife Restoration Program, which is funded by an excise tax on the sale of firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment.