Turkey hunters are rather famously a bunch of early risers, sometimes excessively so.
In fact, the first time I heard the phrase "zero dark thirty" was not in the title of a Hollywood hit movie, but nearly 10 years ago reading a turkey-hunting article.
After years of hunting those elusive birds, I still question how necessary it is to rise so early. Then, I had an experience that reminds me just how necessary those short nights really are.
It was the opening day of this past firearm deer season and I had taken up a spot at the base of a tall beech tree looking down through a little draw.
I knew of several four-wheeler trails and even more deer trails that crossed the opening below me. I also knew that several hunters would likely push in from the other side of the property. Both features upped my odds at seeing a deer. So even though I have never been an enormously successful deer hunter, I felt good about my position.
To my right was a stand of white pine and while scouting the area for two weeks, I remember the first thing that had crossed my mind when I saw a stand like this is, "That spot looks birdy."
On the properties where I hunt, the turkeys seem to like to roost in pine stands or near the pine stands. There are several good reasons, I'm sure: Pine stands offer shelter from bad weather. The litter of pine needles is probably much easier to dig through when finding insects and grubs, compared to heavy maple and oak leaves. Take your pick of reasons. All I know is: I usually find turkeys in those pine stands.
That morning, as soon as the night sky was starting to turn lighter, I heard the sounds that get my blood moving. For the typical hunter on the opening day of deer season, those sounds would be foot falls in dry leaves. For me, it was the first tentative tree yelps of a nearby flock of turkeys.
Getting ready for what was sure to be a tremendous show, I shifted my seat just slightly to the right, giving me a better vantage point over that pine stand, where I had heard the yelping. As if by magic, several dark blobs began to materialize from the darkness, perched high up on the pine branches. From my position, I could count five turkeys, but being the end of November, this flock could definitely be much bigger than it initially appears.
The light tree yelps and clucks continued for another 5 to 10 minutes, as each turkey woke from its slumber to check on the rest of the flock.
Tree yelps are an interesting vocalization. Turkeys are relatively safe at this point of the day, so they communicate freely with each other. The point of the tree yelp is very simple; it is really their way of saying, "Hey, I'm over here. I made it through the night. Is anyone else out there?"
This morning calling can be one of the best ways to hunt turkeys in the fall because in the fall turkeys are eager to flock up. When turkeys flock up, they make finding food, and spotting predators, that much easier.
By using a highly effective distress call, known as the kee-kee run, you can draw a fall bird into gun range. Unfortunately for me, this was deer season, so I had to be content with just watching.
After the turkeys were satisfied that everyone was awake, they started to pitch off the limbs into the woods. I have seen this too many times to count, but each time I am completely in awe of how such a big heavy bird can glide to the ground in the middle of the forest. That truly is an indication of how keen a turkey's eyesight is. A turkey can pick out a clear flight path from the roost to a specific spot on the ground and make it there through what appears to us as a tangle of trees and branches.
What had been five blobs in the morning sky, turned into seven birds pitching off the roost. Those seven were then joined by another five that had roosted together, behind me and to my left, so there was now an even dozen turkeys gathering together slightly downhill from my current position.
When the turkeys landed on the ground, they went dead silent. Not having the protection of their perch up in those pines, the turkeys were reliant on their eyes and ears to detect predators. The flock was together, so if there were no turkey calls outside of the flock, those birds would have tight lips the remainder of the day. The last thing that any turkey wants is to alert a keen-eared predator to his position.
The turkeys then meandered off to the south, into the deeper part of the property I was hunting. And this is where the turkeys taught me an invaluable lesson. That part of the property has unposted access from a nearby road. On the opening day of the firearm season that roadside has more cars than a Walmart parking lot on Black Friday. That crowd was exactly why I had initially picked my spot, hoping they would push deer my way.
Having seen that flock of a dozen turkeys head off that way, I expected to eventually hear or see them again, once they got spooked back by the hunting commotion. I remained seated against that old beech until about 11 a.m., and then walked a couple of loops to get a change of scenery and to warm up my legs. I hunted that general area from dawn until dusk, and did not once see that flock again.
Despite hearing regular shooting, that flock of birds was never spooked enough to retreat my direction.
That day taught me just how important it is to get on those birds early in the morning if I want to have a successful hunt.