Report Your Wild Turkey Brood Sightings Before August 31

CONTACT:
Dan Ellingwood: (603) 352-9669
Andrew Timmins: (603) 271-2461
August 14, 2025

Concord, NH – As the summer ends, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is asking for the public’s help in monitoring our wild turkey population by reporting brood sightings before August 31. If you observe groups of turkeys with poults (juvenile birds), report your sightings by visiting www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wild-turkeys-new-hampshire/turkey-surveys.

“This summer marks the 17th year of Fish and Game’s annual Summer Brood Survey,” said NH Fish and Game Turkey Project Leader Dan Ellingwood. “The information that is collected through this survey is used to measure the reproductive success of New Hampshire’s turkey population. Data collected through this survey is also part of a national effort to monitor turkey population trends across the country.”

By August, most poults are over 1 month old and are far less vulnerable to predation now that they can fly and roost in trees at night. Additionally, their larger size makes them more resilient to adverse weather. As a result, brood sightings in August are particularly informative for measuring population recruitment—the number of poults that will ultimately “graduate” into the adult age class—which will set expectations for the population’s growth trajectory in the year ahead.

In 2024, Summer Brood Survey participants reported 832 broods with an average of 3.9 poults per hen in August, the highest since 2018. These findings represent a significant increase from 2023, a season with record rainfall, which resulted in reduced nesting success and poult survival. This season, 237 brood observations have already been reported from across the state.

The term “brood” refers to a family group of young turkeys accompanied by a hen. Hens in New Hampshire generally lay eggs from mid-April to mid-May. Incubation lasts for 28 days, and most eggs hatch by mid-June. If their initial clutch is not successful, hens often re-nest, prolonging the hatch season. It is common for broods to combine as the season progresses, resulting in larger “mixed broods” observed with multiple adult hens.

To learn more about the Summer Brood Survey, visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/wild-turkeys-new-hampshire/turkey-surveys.

Wild turkey management and research is made possible by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration Program, a user-pay, user-benefit program supported by purchases of firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment.