Maryland hunters harvested 3,910 wild turkeys during the spring 2021 regular and junior turkey seasons, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported. This year’s harvest was 9% below the record harvest of 4,303 set in 2020, but still 4% above the 10-year average.
“Turkey populations in much of the state have increased significantly in the past decade,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Paul Peditto said. “It is not unexpected to see a stabilization or slight decline in both numbers of turkeys and the spring harvest following a period of growth.”
The percentage of juvenile turkeys or “jakes” reported in the harvest declined to 16%. This supports other survey data showing that summer 2020 was a below-average year for turkey production across most of the state.
Despite a decline in harvest in many counties, the top three counties all posted harvests above 300 birds. Garrett County reported 374 turkeys, followed by Charles County with 353, and Washington County with 345.
Youth hunters kicked off the spring turkey season statewide on April 17 with the Junior Turkey Hunt. An additional junior hunting opportunity occurred on April 18 in select counties. In total, junior hunters harvested 255 wild turkeys, accounting for about 6% of the total spring harvest.
Total harvests by county are below:
County 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Allegany 293 250 278 286 266 Anne Arundel 58 49 74 81 64 Baltimore 51 55 56 65 53 Calvert 59 76 68 82 58 Caroline 149 135 152 180 149 Carroll 103 103 73 93 104 Cecil 87 69 89 94 80 Charles 320 336 348 369 353 Dorchester 303 212 221 211 197 Frederick 332 313 304 348 281 Garrett 429 412 429 387 374 Harford 127 105 124 88 104 Howard 24 36 33 34 35 Kent 174 168 166 206 151 Montgomery 135 149 135 162 154 Prince George’s 91 76 105 109 99 Queen Anne’s 160 115 145 144 120 Somerset 163 145 129 171 180 St. Mary’s 202 191 188 226 187 Talbot 94 80 87 95 80 Washington 426 459 414 439 345 Wicomico 175 139 155 193 181 Worcester 220 188 229 240 295 Statewide 4,175 3,861 4,002 4,303 3,910
All I can say is that that is a LOT of turkeys! Wish I could be a part of it. Thanks for sharing man!
-Huntingexpertusa team