DNREC Needs Your Help Counting Delaware's Wild Turkeys

State of DE - Delaware wildlife officials are asking residents to keep an eye out for wild turkeys this summer. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is running its annual turkey productivity survey, and they need volunteers across the state to help out.

The survey runs from July 1 through Aug. 31. It's an easy way for anyone to get involved in local wildlife conservation, no special training required.

Here's how it works. While you're out and about this summer, just keep an eye out for turkeys. If you spot some, write down the date, the location and how many adult hens, gobblers and poults (that's young turkeys) you saw.

This year, DNREC is making it even easier to report sightings. For the first time, volunteers can use an online form instead of mailing in paper records. You can find it at de.gov/turkeysurvey, and DNREC asks that you submit it right after you spot the birds.

So why does this survey matter? It helps wildlife biologists with the Division of Fish and Wildlife track how Delaware's turkey population is doing. The data shows reproductive success and population trends, which helps guide future conservation and hunting decisions.

This survey is part of one of Delaware's biggest conservation success stories. Wild turkeys actually disappeared from the state back in the late 1800s due to habitat loss and overharvesting. They were gone for almost a century.

That changed in 1984. The Division of Fish and Wildlife released 34 wild-trapped turkeys into Kent and Sussex counties, with help from hunting license funds, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Delaware Wild Lands and other conservation partners. More releases followed through the early 2000s.

The comeback worked. By 1991, the population had grown enough to support a limited spring hunting season, and turkeys have remained a fixture of Delaware's woods and fields ever since.

Your sightings this summer will help biologists keep that success story going. The information gets combined with annual harvest data and bird-banding efforts to give wildlife managers a clearer picture of how Delaware's turkeys are doing today.

If you want to pitch in, just remember the dates: July 1 through Aug. 31. Keep your eyes open, jot down what you see and submit it online at de.gov/turkeysurvey.