CAMP VERDE -

Out on the sun-baked landscape that passes for Rio Grande turkey habitat today, wild turkeys are doing all the things turkeys are supposed to do in the spring.

They're feeding, of course, and they're gobbling and yelping and strutting and drumming.

Gobblers are working hard to attract hens and find one that's willing to mate. Hens, on the other hand, are just trying to stay alive and — even though they can manage their egg-laying to some degree, for the best results — that means we're probably in for our second consecutive year without much of a turkey hatch throughout the state.

The statewide Rio Grande turkey season opens Saturday in the South Zone, which includes a number of Hill Country counties. The rest of the state will open April 4, while counties with eastern turkey seasons run from April 1-30.

Drought is the defining issue in Texas right now, the recent rains notwithstanding. Not only do months without rain mean there's nothing to eat for the turkeys living there now, they also mean that turkey hens can't find suitable thick cover for nesting and hatching eggs. It's a vicious cycle that's going to have some impact on turkey seasons this year.

"Unfortunately, there was very little nesting activity across the state as a whole (last year)," said Jason Hardin, turkey program leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "In South Texas, of 80 radio-marked hens, five attempted to nest and none were successful. Of approximately 130 birds trapped in the Rolling Plains during February, less than 5 percent were juveniles."

Those numbers mean not many turkeys were successful in nesting last year, though the previous spring was a boom period for turkeys. Some birds always hatch, and turkeys are long-lived, so they can stand a lost nesting period better than smaller birds such as quail.

"There are no doubt pockets of nesting taking place, but across the range it was very poor," Hardin said. "That said, Rios are very hardy birds and will bounce back when a wet spring does arrive."

Hardin said hunters should find turkeys gobbling and strutting, just as they do in most years. "I believe there will be a lot of gobbling activity, but very little nesting activity," he said. "If the rains do arrive in the next few weeks west of I-35, we may get some nesting. However, if the rains do not come soon it may be too little too late. Most of the hens will not be in a condition to reproduce."

Gobblers in dry years also seem to run down quicker than when conditions are optimum. It could be the lack of a steady food supply or just a diminishing testosterone supply because hens aren't responding, but gobblers will lose interest in mating faster in a really dry year.

Hunters most likely will spend more time around water and even checking feeders more often this spring. When there's grass growing, the birds will spend lots of time chasing insects, but without those they'll have to focus on food supplies that humans place out there, and that makes them more vulnerable to being killed around a feeder.

But that doesn't seem to have much impact on the number of turkeys hunters kill, even if they miss out on the thrill of calling to and interacting with a hot gobbler. Hardin said that for 20 years, from 1987 through 2007, hunters in Texas killed an average of 26,000 birds each spring. That's not a big number in a state with four turkey tags on the license.

One thing you might want to do when you're hunting this year is aim for the very peak period of gobbling and calling in your area. That's usually later more than sooner — say, after April 15 in much of the Hill Country.

And try to hunt earlier than you might in wetter years. Gobblers will run out of steam once the sun starts to heat up, and your best chance may be that short period between daylight and about 9 a.m.

Gobblers usually start moving toward water between 9 to 10 a.m., and that's another good time to intercept one on his route.

COMMENTARY: MIKE LEGGETT

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