Alabama spring turkeys roosted where the pig rank was lower

STEP 1 · One study block

A May camera rank set against spring fixes

The study block covered about 22,699 acres (9,186 ha) of adjoining private land held by seven landowners. Crews captured turkeys from five flocks from January through March 2022 and fitted 31 birds with backpack GPS units. Nine died before data collection. Three of those were males and six were females. The other 10 males and 12 females were monitored through 1 June. Each unit stored a location about every two hours from 0600 to 2000 plus a midnight roost point.

In May 2022 the authors ran a baited camera survey on 51 cells of 1 square kilometer. Cameras ran for seven days after a pre-bait week. They counted unique pigs at each camera. Raw counts ran from 0 to 42 pigs per square kilometer, and the same pig could be counted in more than one cell. Counts were ranked from 0.0 to 1.0 and assigned to the turkey locations. The authors assumed the local pig population stayed stable across the three-month turkey window. Our read is that a single May rank stands in for pig use across the spring tracking window only by that assumption. It was not measured across that window.

A fenced property in the southeastern corner held no wild pigs. Pig values inside that fence were all zero. Our read is that the low end of the rank on that corner may also reflect how the property was managed. The paper did not separate management from pig rank.

STEP 2 · Longer steps

Gobblers and post-nesting hens took longer steps where the pig rank was higher

All 12 females nested. One was killed on a nest. The other 11 were classed as post-nesting females after their own nesting or brood rearing ended. Relative pig density was positively associated with step length for all 22 birds, for males, and for those 11 hens. The step model used log-transformed distance between consecutive fixes. The authors then exponentiated the effects onto a linear scale. For breeding-period hens that exponentiated value was 1.00. On that scale 1.00 means no change in the model. P was 0.978. The printed interval ran from 0.81 to 1.24 and includes 1. The study did not detect a step-length link for those hens in either direction. A missed detection is different from evidence that the link is absent. The authors said they do not know whether the longer steps have biological significance. Land cover was left out of the step model because a two-hour line can cross several cover types.

STEP 3 · Roosts and nests

Used sites sat below the random pig rank

Daytime points for all 22 birds averaged a relative pig density of 0.271 against 0.374 at random points. The paper reports used daytime points as 27.5 percent lower than those random points. The sample held 12,266 daytime points. Used roosts averaged 0.253 against 0.384 at random points. The paper reports used roosts as 34.2 percent lower. The roost sample held 1,778 points. Predicted daytime use and roost selection both fell as the pig rank increased in each turkey grouping.

The 12 hens started 16 nests, counting renests. Known nests averaged a relative pig density of 0.31. Random nest sites averaged 0.41. Two of the 16 nests succeeded. Those successful nests sat at 0.14 and 0.44. One successful nest was above the random-site average. Nest placement does not show that pigs caused the other nests to fail.

The authors suggested that the turkeys avoided denser pig ground or were excluded from it. They offered perceived disturbance as one reason and less usable ground as the other. They also wrote that wild pigs may not prey on adult turkeys.

STEP 4 · Your ground

Weigh roosts against the acres in each sign class

Our rule is for ground where pig sign is patchy and roost timber stands in more than one sign class. Start the spring roost check on the lighter sign. The Alabama birds' roosts, daytime points, and nests sat toward a lower pig rank than random locations. That association is the basis for the order. Fresh rooting and tracks are our stand-in for the study's baited-camera rank. The study counted unique pigs at each camera. It did not test whether sign matches that rank.

If you see birds on heavy sign early but not there at midday or fly-up, log what you saw at each check rather than labelling the patch. Your note records where you saw birds at the times you checked. It cannot reproduce a GPS step. It also cannot estimate turkey abundance, nesting success, or the effect of removing pigs.

Keep the search effort similar on light sign and heavy sign. Compare the share of roosts on heavy sign with the share of ground that heavy sign covers. The paper compared used locations with random locations inside the study bounds. Those random locations stand for ground that was available. If your roosts land on heavy sign about as often as that ground's share predicts, the Alabama pattern is not showing up here. A handful of roosts cannot settle the comparison either way.

If the only roost trees on the property stand in heavy sign, scout those trees anyway. Pig rank does not replace a roost limb. Note a hen in nesting cover when you happen to see her. Do not search for nests. Rules on wild pigs and on disturbing a nest vary by state. Read the current page from your state wildlife agency before you act.