Photo by Phillip Jordan

It's time once again for spring turkey hunting in Illinois. Of course, most of us have been thinking about this year since the close of last season. And right about now, the excitement builds to a fevered pitch.

There is a lot to be excited about, too. Last year, Prairie State hunters killed a record number of turkeys in the spring hunt. Over 16,000 birds were harvested during the regular season and 2006 Youth Turkey Hunt combined. That's a tremendous milestone and a great testimony to the restoration of wild turkeys in our state.

"The success of so many turkey hunters is great news and is another indicator of how successful the turkey restoration program in Illinois has been," said Department of Natural Resources Acting Director Sam Flood. "Eleven years after the first reintroduction of wild turkeys to the state, harvest during the first modern turkey season in Illinois in 1970 was 25 birds. To top 16,000 this year shows that the wild turkey population is thriving, and hunters are enjoying the opportunity."

If the last few years are any indication, this spring should be another great year. For the last three years in a row, hunters have taken over 15,000 birds during the spring seasons. In 2004, hunters took 15,066 birds during the regular spring seasons and 497 in the youth hunt for a total harvest of 15,563. Hunters in the regular spring seasons of 2005 took 14,951 wild turkeys, with youth hunts adding an additional 458 birds for a total of 15,409. Last year, the tally was a whopping 16,140 birds, with 15,628 of them shot during the regular seasons and 512 in the youth season.

While that is great news for last year, those figures aren't necessarily the best indicators for this season. Biologists look at multiple sources of data to estimate the population level and set regulations. Obviously, the harvest figures for spring, fall and youth seasons are compiled and compared with trends. Observations and counts of wild turkeys are also recorded by firearms and archery deer hunters during the fall. However, the most significant contributing factor to population estimating is the observation of yearly poult production, and it is compiled as the poult-to-hen index.

Breeding success is determined in part by this poult-to-hen index. This rating system is compiled from annual brood survey reporting by cooperating landowners, mail carriers, biologists and public-land site managers. Figures are assessed and compared against long-term trends.

The poult production was quite good based on the brood survey reports from 2006. This should mean a lot more young birds in the population this year -- at least theoretically. There are variables that can affect or skew the numbers in the index.

The preliminary poult-to-hen index for 2006 was 3.0, which is above the prior 10-year average of 2.88. It was up from the 2005 index of 2.34. Statewide, this was good news, but not all areas of Illinois saw the increase.

The best areas of our state were Region V (3.58), Region II (3.03) and Region IV (3.01). However, Region I (2.70) and Region III (1.50) were under the 10-year average.

Things are looking excellent statewide for this year, but the burning question in many hunters' minds is: "Where can I go to get my bird?" Well, let's dig a little deeper and see if we can find the answer.