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Photo study vindicates wild turkeys as grape-eating menace
April 20, 2003
Thom Gabrukiewicz, Redding Record Searchlight
UKIAH — Wild turkeys are getting a bum rap.
Over the past 30 years, Meleagris gallopavo has been one of this nation's most prosperous comeback stories. After being hunted close to extinction, the six sub-species of wild turkey in North America have bounced back to robust populations from the Atlantic seaboard to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
But the bird's success in reclaiming traditional (and non-traditional) habitat has led to a lot of finger pointing.
"It's a case of being successful in adapting to new habitat than other species," said James Powell, public relations manager with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). "You'll see them in the cities, in the country and all over. It's a case of their numbers going up, while other species are heading down."
Success, however, can bring bad publicity.
If you believe the stories, wild turkeys are responsible for the decline of bobwhite quail in the South. Every outdoorsman has heard the tale of a hunter gutting a wild turkey, only to find its gullet stuffed with baby bobwhites.
"Not one reported case has ever been verified," said NWTF western regional biologist Jim Stengle of Ashland, Ore. "No one has seen it happen, but the stories still continue to be told."
In California, vintners in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties have for years pointed at wild turkeys as the biggest culprit in damaging wine grapes. One Sonoma vintner told NWTF biologists in 2002 that wild turkeys had stripped an entire field of grapes overnight.
"It didn't happen," said Tom Hughes, a wildlife biologist with the NWTF's Wild Turkey Center in Edgefield, S.C. "A turkey can hold six ounces, that's all it can eat at one time. Unless there were 2,000 birds in this guy's field, it's impossible to blame the turkey."
An ongoing study in Napa and Sonoma counties proves what NWTF biologists have been preaching for years — wild turkeys are fabulous neighbors in California's wine growing region.
And the usual suspects — deer, raccoons, ground squirrels and foxes — are eating the state's wine grapes.
The NWTF, along with the Department of Fish and Game, set out in August of 2002 to prove to winemakers that wild turkeys were not responsible for pilfering wine grapes. Biologists set up 39 cameras at various locations at six vineyard study sites. Photographs were taken during the day and at night from Aug. 24, 2002 to Sept. 25, 2002.
While 45 percent of the photos captured wild turkeys, the photos clearly showed the turkeys eating mostly insects and clover down the middle of the rows (only 7 percent of the turkeys photographed were seen eating grapes).
Of the animals photographed, raccoons and ground squirrels accounted for 70 percent of the lost grapes, while foxes accounted for 38 percent of the damage and deer 21 percent.
The study also showed that most crop damage occurred at night; turkeys only feed during the day and fly into trees at dusk to roost. They don't leave the roost until sunrise.
"Thanks to the study, wine growers and other residents of the region will have new insight on how wild turkeys and other wildlife affect their lifestyles and vocations," Hughes said. "The study is a real eye-opener."
Not to Scott Jepson.
Jepson is the manager of the Jepson Winery (www.jepsonwine.com) outside of Ukiah. The 1,240-acre Jepson Ranch has 130 acres dedicated to wine and brandy making. The rest of the acreage is managed like a wild game preserve. The oak-studded hills and chaparral high country is home to deer, wild pig, wild turkey and California quail. In remarkable abundance.
And Jepson knows the benefits of turkeys in his family's vineyards.
"We know they're eating a lot of pests that we don't have to deal with," he said. "It does get real dry here and we have a drip irrigation system and water stays in the pipes. The wild turkeys will peck at it, but it's not a problem."
Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
April 20, 2003
Thom Gabrukiewicz, Redding Record Searchlight
UKIAH — Wild turkeys are getting a bum rap.
Over the past 30 years, Meleagris gallopavo has been one of this nation's most prosperous comeback stories. After being hunted close to extinction, the six sub-species of wild turkey in North America have bounced back to robust populations from the Atlantic seaboard to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
But the bird's success in reclaiming traditional (and non-traditional) habitat has led to a lot of finger pointing.
"It's a case of being successful in adapting to new habitat than other species," said James Powell, public relations manager with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). "You'll see them in the cities, in the country and all over. It's a case of their numbers going up, while other species are heading down."
Success, however, can bring bad publicity.
If you believe the stories, wild turkeys are responsible for the decline of bobwhite quail in the South. Every outdoorsman has heard the tale of a hunter gutting a wild turkey, only to find its gullet stuffed with baby bobwhites.
"Not one reported case has ever been verified," said NWTF western regional biologist Jim Stengle of Ashland, Ore. "No one has seen it happen, but the stories still continue to be told."
In California, vintners in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties have for years pointed at wild turkeys as the biggest culprit in damaging wine grapes. One Sonoma vintner told NWTF biologists in 2002 that wild turkeys had stripped an entire field of grapes overnight.
"It didn't happen," said Tom Hughes, a wildlife biologist with the NWTF's Wild Turkey Center in Edgefield, S.C. "A turkey can hold six ounces, that's all it can eat at one time. Unless there were 2,000 birds in this guy's field, it's impossible to blame the turkey."
An ongoing study in Napa and Sonoma counties proves what NWTF biologists have been preaching for years — wild turkeys are fabulous neighbors in California's wine growing region.
And the usual suspects — deer, raccoons, ground squirrels and foxes — are eating the state's wine grapes.
The NWTF, along with the Department of Fish and Game, set out in August of 2002 to prove to winemakers that wild turkeys were not responsible for pilfering wine grapes. Biologists set up 39 cameras at various locations at six vineyard study sites. Photographs were taken during the day and at night from Aug. 24, 2002 to Sept. 25, 2002.
While 45 percent of the photos captured wild turkeys, the photos clearly showed the turkeys eating mostly insects and clover down the middle of the rows (only 7 percent of the turkeys photographed were seen eating grapes).
Of the animals photographed, raccoons and ground squirrels accounted for 70 percent of the lost grapes, while foxes accounted for 38 percent of the damage and deer 21 percent.
The study also showed that most crop damage occurred at night; turkeys only feed during the day and fly into trees at dusk to roost. They don't leave the roost until sunrise.
"Thanks to the study, wine growers and other residents of the region will have new insight on how wild turkeys and other wildlife affect their lifestyles and vocations," Hughes said. "The study is a real eye-opener."
Not to Scott Jepson.
Jepson is the manager of the Jepson Winery (www.jepsonwine.com) outside of Ukiah. The 1,240-acre Jepson Ranch has 130 acres dedicated to wine and brandy making. The rest of the acreage is managed like a wild game preserve. The oak-studded hills and chaparral high country is home to deer, wild pig, wild turkey and California quail. In remarkable abundance.
And Jepson knows the benefits of turkeys in his family's vineyards.
"We know they're eating a lot of pests that we don't have to deal with," he said. "It does get real dry here and we have a drip irrigation system and water stays in the pipes. The wild turkeys will peck at it, but it's not a problem."
Thom Gabrukiewicz's Outside column appears every Sunday in the Record Searchlight. He can be reached at 225-8230 or at tgabrukiewicz@redding.com.
