Turkeys are also my passion...I've been a turkey fanatic since I was a youngster and actually used to raise both easterns and rios when I was a youngster. I learned their mannerism and how to call by mimicking the birds I was around. I started hunting turkeys in my teens and early 20's and now at almost 40 I'm still crazy about turkeys which is why I do what I do and stay so involved. I'm also like you that in the fact that although my family has land in Anderson county, I intend to acquire more of it in the coming years and the turkey population will be a big determination as to where we purchase.
Back in 2010 my NWTF chapter hosted an event at the Bass Pro store in Pearland, TX to educate the public about super stockings and the turkey restoration program in east Texas. Jason Harden (TPWD), Scotty Parsons (NWTF), and Jason Isabelle (SFA grad student) who were all working on the project at the time gave a different report of Bobcat Ridge back then. The birds were were slower to reproduce the first year after the release and there was like 30-40% mortality in hens, but the following years survival rate had increased and there had been fair to decent productivity in recent years. The population after a few years was comparable to regions in other states with established eastern turkey populations.
Staying in touch with the biologist working on the project and landowners is one of the things I stay on top of, as I have a committee and many NWTF supporters who are all interested in staying informed with the progress.
I'm sure as a biologist who's participated, you know that the point for all these super stockings is to connect turkey populations along the Neches river basin, so with all the super stockings up from Angelina, Trinity, though Houston up to Anderson county is strategic. The plan is for the Neches to function as a super highway since turkeys are known to travel water ways and expand into new territory. The birds are known to travel good distances, and recently a hen traveled over 25 miles from the Neches all the way to the Trinity, then made a straight line all the way back to the release area.
Whatever the report you last heard of the super stocking, I assure you that today the numbers have grown exponentially from the bobcat ridge site and those birds have really expanded their territory. Several years ago I heard a gobbler on our neighbors place off 175 just east of Frankston, and the landowner who just started the Brushy Creek co-op has pictures of several gobblers in Cuney, TX just across the Neches river near the 175 bridge. Both of those locations are over 20+ miles north of Bobcat Ridge. The success at bobcat Ridge and a couple of other original test sites are the reason that the super stocking methods are still being used and are being done in greater numbers in recent years.
Last year they were trapping some of the Texas born descendants of those birds originally released at Bobcat Ridge. During that period someone made a yelp call and the entire bottom lit up with gobbles all up and down the river bottom. I believe at that particular site they trapped about 9 Texas born long beards last year and fitted them with transmitters to further research factors that would help create the same success at other release sites.
As far as Houston county, there have been lots of reports of birds around the Neches in recent years, so those birds have been maintaining their numbers in that area and traveling up and down the Neches as well. I've also heard several reports from members on this forum who has seen decent numbers of birds in Houston and even Loen county.
The numbers are definitely increasing and for someone who does this every day and has headed up the program for years, I'm confident that Jason knows what he's talking about. If he says there are more turkeys in that area of east Texas I believe him. Either way I'm excited about it and looking forward to seeing what the next 5, 10, and 15 years bring...
I worked for TPWD for five years and was one of the first biologist to be involved in the super stocking efforts in East Texas. I helped release approximately 120 birds in Houston County, several groups on the Winston Ranch and assisted on the initial stocking at Bobcat Ridge. Last report I got was that the Houston county birds are all but gone. However, Winstons birds are still hanging on at his place and the Expiremental Forest of SFA. Just before I left in 2010, Bobcat ridge had minimal survival and no reported plot production.
Turkeys are my passion!!! Which is why we bought our ranch in Red River county. The first year we saw five birds total. After thinning, burning, clearing, mulching and planting food plots we typically see flocks of 20-30 birds in the winter and I have heard as many as 8 different gobblers in one morning during a spring hunt. We have had years of great polt production and years we just couldn't make anything happen between heavy rains and extreme drought, but we maintain a viable breeding population. I believe this is because birds are always traveling along the river north of us and along the numerous streams that connect them to the greater populations of birds in Oklahoma.
I am beginning to lean towards immigration and emigration as being one of the greatest limiting factors facing the Anderson County birds. My prayer is that the released birds join up with the hidden pockets of birds within the Davy Crockett and along the River all the way down to South Boggy. Maybe these resident birds can teach these released South Carolina and Tennessee birds some new tricks. (Or vice versa) I hope their populations reach numbers that can overcome normal predation, natural disasters and consecutive years of poor polt production!!! I would love to hear some birds gobbling thru the bottoms again in deep East Texas!!!
Do you have a place in Anderson County?
