Turkeys wild about Ohio
By Kathleen Folkerth
GREATER AKRON — Squirrels, rabbits and the occasional deer aren’t uncommon visitors to back yards in Summit County. But wild turkeys?
“It’s becoming increasingly more common,” said Geoff Westerfield, a wildlife research technician for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife (ODW) District Three office located in the Portage Lakes area. “Their numbers are increasing in this county.”
Westerfield said the department isn’t sure how many live in the county, but he estimates there are about 200,000 of the birds in the state today.
That’s a far cry from a century ago, when the numbers of wild turkeys in Ohio dwindled to zero. According to the ODW, turkeys once inhabited forested areas of the entire state, providing food and sport for Native Americans and early Ohio settlers. But as settlement continued and forests were converted to farms, the wild turkey’s population shrunk to the point that no birds remained in the state by 1904.
In the 20th century, the ODW began a 40-year effort to bring the wild turkey back to the state. The agency began by releasing farm-reared birds into the wild, but that effort failed. Then in the late 1950s and early 1960s, wild turkeys were trapped in states with established populations and successfully transplanted into Ohio forests. The birds developed populations throughout Southeast Ohio, so then ODW biologists began trapping those birds and transplanting them to other counties in the state.
Westerfield said the department still tracks the turkey population and moves birds into areas of the state where numbers are low.
“Our focus now is on Erie and Ottawa counties,” he said.
The effort has been successful, as today there are wild turkeys in all of Ohio’s 88 counties.
The wild birds are hunted during
two seasons, one in the
spring, which is when breeding occurs, and one in the
early fall.
Locally, Westerfield said it’s
common to see turkeys in areas around the Cuyahoga Valley
National Park. He said Hudson has seen large numbers
of the birds, and the number in the Clinton area has
been growing.
Marlo Perdicas, a biologist with
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, said Sand Run, Hampton
Hill and O’Neil Woods metro parks all have significant
numbers of turkeys. “They’re
a pretty elusive animal, but if you’re walking
quietly in woods, you have a good chance of seeing a
turkey or a flock,” Perdicas said.
She added it’s not unusual
for residents who live near the parks to come across
the birds in their neighborhoods.
What should you do if you find
a turkey in your yard?
“Don’t feed it,”
said Westerfield. “They can cause problems just
like raccoons do.”
He added he’s heard of
cases where the large birds have
damaged cars with their claws or caused significant
messes with their waste.
If you find a turkey in your
yard, Perdicas said it’s best to leave it alone.
“There’s no reason
to be afraid of them,” she said. “Just enjoy
having the wildlife in your yard.”
For more information about wild
turkeys in Ohio, visit the Web site www.ohiodnr.com/
wildlife/Resources/wildnotes/ pub004.htm.
 
After their population dwindled to zero in the state, wild turkeys have made a comeback, thanks to efforts by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.
Photos courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife
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