quiet birds

[baldopepper]

Just returned from a weekend in unit 121 looking for bird #2.  I've never seen the birds so quiet this early in the season.  They werent even gobbling on the morning roost.  Defintiely birds around us as we saw numerous jakes and toms in the mornings, but they paid not attention at all to calls.  Much tougher hunting - not only from the no noise point of view, but foilage is now leafed out making it very difficult to see.  Anyone else finding the birds to be so quiet? 

[carpsniperg2]

could be they have already been messed with this year and are a bit call shy, they have been a bit shut lipped around here as well.

[baldopepper]

No question the birds can get very call shy, but normally when you have groups of 3-4 or more jakes in the immediate area you hear them sounding off on the roost and the area we hunt is very, very private with very virtually no pressure.  Usually I can hear them sounding off well into May and even June  in the mornings, but not this year.  Has to be weather realted, but I've seen years when May was very warm and they were still gobbling on the roost into the the latter part of the month.  would have thought there were no birds around except they'd show up after daylight. 

[carpsniperg2]

if you are trying to locate them shock them into gobblin, if you are just trying to locate them to move in and set up. crow owl what ever you like or have. i have a special call i found that works 99% of the time and me and only one of my best friends knows about this and have never seen anyone use it but us. and we are very careful not to let anyone know about it because it is so deadly we have had them come in to it as well

[baldopepper]

Well, I can't say I was necesarily trying to locate are even real seriously trying to hunt them.  I guess I was just making more of a coment about how quiet they are.  Just seemed strange that in an area where you normally hear numerous calls from the roost you hear virtaully none.  Not at all unusual for them to go quiet once they're down, I've just never seen them go so "dead" on the roost.  Seem to be still with hens in most cases and we did hear a few hens on the roost, but for the jakes and toms be so quiet is just really unusual .  Thought maybe someone might have experienced this before and had a plausible explanation.  I'll be back over off and on the next couple of months and I'm betting they get noisty again.

[quadrafire]

ii have a special call i found that works 99% of the time and me and only one of my best friends knows about this and have never seen anyone use it but us. and we are very careful not to let anyone know about it because it is so deadly we have had them come in to it as well

99%- yea right! Whats the big secret. . We're not gonna tell, we are all best friends, right?? You fartin in the woods and don't want anybody to know?

[baldopepper]

Quadrafire-it's really funny you'd mention that-SUPPOSEDLY  a true story from my brother this year.  He claims he was well hidden ,waiting quietly for birds when he was overwhelmed with a gas build up, released a rather noisy plume and a nice tom responded with a gobble not 30' behind him!!!  All I know is that he did indeed bring in a nice bird that evening.  Told my wife about it and her response was how much money we've spent on call's and evidently we've been literally sitting on the best one all along!

[quadrafire]

 

[turkeydancer]

But alas, gas warfare was outlawed by the Geneva Convention ....
             

[baldopepper]

My only question to him was did he think the bird gobbled from shock or disgust!

[PA BEN]

They do this every year. I think it has more to do with the weather then anything else. 

[Gringo31]

I haven't gone out yet this year but am headed out this weekend.  You guys are making me nervous.

[baldopepper]

don't mean to discourage anyone-birds are there, just a little tougher to hunt.  they were coming off the roost at 5:30 am and what little noise we heard was between 5 and 5:30.  I'm sure there are still some "hot" ones out there to be called in.  It is a truly glorious time of year to be out regardless.  Grouse are drumming like crazy, song birds are in full mateing color plummage and wild flowers are blooming all over.  For anyone who is a true outdoors person this is just a great time of year.  go out and enjoy,  getting a turkey is just extra frosting on the cake!!

[sneakyjake]

Walk very slowly on the trails or logging roads in areas you know they are.  I have caught the tips of their fans while sneaking into the area.  The birds are usually alone and just fanned out quietly or dusting on the road with no hens.

[Machias]

They were gobbling strong from sunrise to about 1000 this weekend, then it was sporadic, like always after 1000.  They seem to be talking pretty good right now.