Newspaper Page Text
April 2,2008
PAGE 5B
^Reporter
Monroe County Outdoors
Gobble. Gobble. IPs
Spring in Monroe Co.
ods. It always pays for a
turkey hunter to be in the
woods well before the sun
begins to peak above the
eastern horizon. One rea
son for this is because it is
not unusual for gobbling to
commence a full 20 min
utes before dawn.
Gobbling then reaches a
peak about 10 minutes
after daybreak. It then
begins to fade to the point
where only 20 minutes
later you are likely to hear
only 50% of the gobbling
heard just a half hour ear
lier.
As the sun rises higher in
the sky, gobbling continues
to decrease before finally
bottoming out in early
afternoon. Although gob
bling once again spikes in
the late afternoon, it tops
out much lower than the
early morning level.
Weather conditions also
have a profound impact on
gobbling. Many grizzled
veterans of scores of turkey
hunting seasons are quick
to advise novice hunters
that gobbling seems to be
greatest on a morning
when clear weather has
prevailed for at least 12
hours; the wind isn’t mov
ing even the most fragile
spring leaves; skies are
partly cloudy; and the
countryside is blanketed in
dew.
If you aren’t lucky
enough to be in the woods
on such a perfect day, let’s
take a look at your chances
of hearing a turkey gobble
in other weather condi
tions. If you walk outside
to get into your truck to
head to your favorite
turkey hunting spot and
find the rain pelting down,
you might want to simply
turn around and go back in
the house and have anoth
er cup of coffee. This is due
to the fact that gobblers
don’t like to gobble in
heavy rain. However, if the
rain stops, you might want
to quickly head to the
woods. Gobblers will
resume gobbling between
showers. In addition, gob
bling activity is higher on
clear days than on days
that are overcast.
Even if you don’t enjoy
the sport of turkey hunt
ing, I urge you to get up
early one morning and try
to hear turkey gobbling.
While you will probably
increase your chances of
hearing a gobbler sound off
if you drive out into a rural
area, get out of your car
and listen. However, even
if you live within the city
limits of Forsyth, you have
a chance of hearing gob
bling. Turkeys actually live
within the city limits of
Forsyth. In addition, a
turkey’s gobble can be
heard up to a mile away.
For many of us, the ability
of hear a turkey gobbling
while standing in or within
a short driving distance of
our backyard is one of the
reasons Monroe County is
such a special place to live.
Terry Johnson is a
Wildlife Biologist with the
Department of Natural
Resources, Wildlife
Resources Division and the
Director of the Nongame
Endangered Wildlife
Program at Rum Creek
Wildlife Management Area.
He can be reached at (478)
994-1438 or via email at
TJWoodDuck@aol. com.
S ounds play such
an important role
in our lives. Some
conjure up deep-
seated memories;
others emotions ranging from
fear, elation, and sadness to
love. In spring, no sound can
get a turkey hunter’s heart
racing faster than
the gobble of the
wild turkey.
Gobblers pro
duce this unique
sound to attract
hens and to let
other gobblers
know that other
they are compet
ing for the
attention of the
hens in their
neck of the
woods. Both adult and
young gobblers (jakes) gob
ble. However, it doesn’t
take an expert turkey
hunter to tell the differ
ence between the gobbles
made by adult and Jake
gobblers. They are as dif
ferent as the sound created
when I hit a golf ball with
my driver compared to the
explosive sound created
when John Daly and Tiger
Woods hit their 300-yard
drives.
In Monroe County gob
bling can be heard in early
March. This is long before
the females are ready to
mate. However, as any
savvy turkey hunter can
attest, gobbling actually
peaks twice during the
turkey hunting season;
both are related to the
availability of hens willing
to mate with the males.
The first peak occurs right
about now, while the sec
ond takes place in late
April and early May.
In late March, while hens
abound, few are ready to
mate. As a result, gobblers
ratchet up their gobbling
in an attempt to coax the
hens to mate with them.
The hens’ willingness to
mate and leave their win
ter flocks increases as the
year moves away from win
ter toward the
heart of spring.
Consequently, the
gobblers don’t
have to work as
hard to impress
potential mates
and their gobbling
wanes. However,
by late April and
May, although
most hens are
nesting, gob
blers still want
to breed. This leads them
to redouble their gobbling
in an effort to find hens
willing to mate.
At this time of the year
even the most inexperi
enced hunter has a fairly
good chance of calling up a
turkey. In fact, practically
any loud sound will cause
a gobbler to let out a full-
throated gobble. A dog
barking, a hunter slam
ming the door of a pickup
truck, a tractor backfiring,
or even a gun shot can set
a gobbler off.
Rival gobblers will even
engage in gobbling duels.
As many as 2-3 gobblers
compete in these contests.
During such vocal matches
in the short span of 10
minutes, an individual gob
bler might sound off 50 or
more times.
While it is true that a
gobble might be heard at
any time of the day at this
time of the year, they are
most often produced dur
ing fairly well defined peri-
MP landscaping team second in state
The Mary Persons FFA
nursery/landscape team
recently placed second in
the State FFA
Nursery/Landscape Career
Development Event. The
event was held at Georgia
FFA-FCCLA Center in
Covington on March 15.
Team members Jennifer
Arnold, Blake Bottomley,
Lonnie Giddens and Trey
Piper became eligible to
compete at the state event
after winning the Area III
Nursery/ Landscape
Career Development Event
last December.
The Jr. Nursery
Landscaping team from
Mary Persons also tied for
second place in the state
contest. This team quali
fied by also winning the
area III contest. Junior
team members were James
Edwards, Kyle Herring,
Brandon Tallaksen, and
Derek Watkins.
The Nursery/Landscape
Career Development Event
allows students to demon
strate their knowledge in
plant materials, plant dis
orders, cultural practices,
design and construction,
supplies and equipment,
safety, interpersonal rela
tions, marketing and
records and reports.
FFA is a national organi
zation of over 449,000
members preparing for
leadership and careers in
the science, business and
technology of agriculture.
FFA is an integral part of
the agricultural education
program in public schools.
The FFA mission is to
make a positive difference
in the lives of students by
developing their potential
for premier leadership,
personal growth and career
success through agricultur
al education.
Bill Waldrep is Mary
Persons High School FFA
advisor. The
Nursery/Landscape Career
Development Event is
sponsored by the Georgia
FFA Foundation.
STARR
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f i rst tu rkey
Fourteen year old Chip Grizzard shot his first turkey on opening
day. The beard measured 10 5/8, spurs 11/4. Not bad for the
first time. Chip is the son of Billy and Bonnie Grizzard.
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