In the still darkness before dawn, a lone figure walks swiftly but silently through ankle-deep grass soaked with heavy dew. He’s destined for the heavy woods at the far end of the field, where wild turkeys travel between the deep hollows that bracket the ridge.

Upon arrival, the hunter notices the sky brightening in the east and surveys the woods around him. His eyes discern the silhouette of a big oak tree. It’s wide enough to support his back. It will offer a comfortable perch — as comfortable as one can expect for turkey hunting, at least. It will also shield his back in the event another hunter comes in from behind. Nobody else is supposed to be on the property, but the tree offers a little insurance against an unpleasant surprise.

As the hunter clears a spot to sit, an owl hoots. From a tree somewhere down in the hollow, a gobble thunders through the woods. The 2005 spring turkey season has begun.

Thousands of turkey hunters in all corners of the state have been looking forward to this day since the close of the 2004 season. Three weeks of exhausting, all-consuming bliss. Missouri is flush with turkeys, and if hunters do their part, they could equal or surpass the success they had last year.

Jeff Beringer, resource scientist for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said that he was a little surprised at the size of the spring turkey harvest last year. A couple of below-average hatches might have hurt reproduction to a degree, he observed, but the overall abundance of birds prevented a dramatic drop in the statewide population.

“We have so many hens,” Beringer said. “Even if they bring off only one or two poults, that’s still a lot of turkeys. When we get these populations where the habitat is basically saturated with turkeys, they’re still bringing off a lot of poults.”

Even though hunters killed 60,744 turkeys last spring, the harvest probably had little effect on the statewide population. If it isn’t growing, it’s at least holding steady.

With extended cool temperatures and rain that lasted well into summer, nesting conditions weren’t great for turkeys in 2004. Beringer said that brood survey data collected in June 2004 indicated a poult-to-hen ratio of 1.6:1, or slightly less than 2 poults per hen. That ratio was similar to what was recorded in June 2003. That’s considerably lower than the average for the previous 10 years, which was 2.1 poults per hen. However, the brood survey data for August were a little more encouraging, Beringer noted.

REGIONAL OUTLOOK

In terms of turkey production, Missouri is divided into nine geographic regions. Turkey production was highest (3.7 poults per hen) in the Mississippi Lowlands region, which includes Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscott and Dunklin counties.

With 1.98 poults per hen, production was also good in the region known as the Lindley Breaks. This includes Howard, Boone, Callaway, Montgomery, Lincoln, Pike, Warren and St. Charles counties. The Missouri River forms the southern border of this region.

Next in line: the eastern Ozarks (1.87 poults per hen). This region including Crawford, Washington, Dent, Reynolds, Iron, Madison, Shannon, Carter, Oregon, Ripley, Wayne, St. Francis and Butler counties is known for its hardwood forests and rugged terrain.

Reproduction in the Union Breaks region was 1.63 poults/hen. This far-flung region comprises Cooper, Moniteau, Cole, Osage, Gasconade, Franklin, Jefferson, St. Genevieve, Perry, Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Bollinger counties. It consists of rolling, hardwood-forested hills intersected by many small and medium-size streams and rivers. The Missouri River forms the northern border.

In the Ozark Border region, June 2004 brood surveys showed 1.58 poults per hen. This region made up of Newton, Christian, Webster, Dallas, Polk, Cedar, St. Clair, Benton, Hickory and Morgan counties consists of rolling hills defined by thick woods and pastures. Major drainages include the Big Sac and Little Sac rivers, as well as the Osage and Pomme de Terre rivers.

In the West Prairie region, brood survey data showed 1.51 poults per hen. Counties in this region are Greene, Lawrence, Dade, Jasper, Barton, Vernon, Bates, Cass, Henry, Jackson, Lafayette, Johnson, Pettis and Saline. This area also contains a versatile mixture of forest and pastureland. Major drainages include the Osage, Marais des Cygnes, Grand and Blackwater rivers.

In the Northwest region, June brood surveys showed 1.35 poults per hen. This region contains Atchison, Holt, Clay, Platte, Buchanan, Nodaway, Ray, Carroll, Clinton, Caldwell, Livingston, Andrew, DeKalb, Daviess, Grundy, Mercer, Harrison and Worth.

In 2004, hunters killed 60,744 turkeys. That includes 3,862 killed by youth hunters during the special, two-day youth-only season. Overall, the harvest increased by 3.9 percent over the previous year.