This is a little off topic but at the same time relevant. Its March 15 and I just took a walk around my yard here in central PA as a break from work and I looked at my dogwoods and redbud trees. Usually around the 2nd week of April the flowers on my dogwoods are just starting to open, but have not yet flowered. Likewise, the buds on my redbud trees at that time are usually swelling and about to open but are not yet open. Today, March 15, both types of trees are basically at the same stage they normally would be the 2nd week of April; that's approximately a month ahead of schedule! Things are much further along weatherwise and seasonwise than I thought, and I just looked at the weather the next 10 days and they are calling for 70s from now through next Thurs! I'm not complaining about the nice weather trust me, but I'm not hearing that many turkeys hammering on the roost yet despite the nice weather. I'm hearing some birds, but not a lot, and not necessarily back in where I normally hear them once we get fully into mating activity; they just seem to be starting to break up here.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is the weather and season are significantly advanced, but the turkeys don't seem to be that far ahead of schedule compared to normal years; maybe one-two weeks ahead at most. So in the end it may be that the early gobbling is just that, early gobbling because of the nice weather. I watched a flock yesterday that contained multiple longbeards, jakes and hens, and although they were extremely vocal and the longbeards were strutting constantly there wasn't any mating going on. I know the nice weather makes us all feel good so maybe this early gobbling is nothing more than that, and the fact I am not hearing a lot of gobbling yet actually is good news after all.

I know one thing, youth day in VA cannot get here soon enough!

-Eric

Eric...

Very good points... I have seen about the same thing as you this week... the gobblers are feeling their oats as far as strutting for hens, but gobbling has been non-existant to minimal this week.

It will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Every year that spring comes early I worry about it getting to hot to fast and the season being half over before it starts. There is no doubt, it seems like the gobbling shuts down big time after the first couple weeks on years where spring comes early. But, I have had some awesome opening weeks on a few springs that were like this. The birds don't seem to be nearly as henned up for the first two weeks and they haven't heard every call under the sun. Alot of times, by the time they are getting lonesome and the hens are nesting, they have been educated and pestered to death, especially on public land. Anyway, I would much rather have a later spring, but just a positive outlook on the 80 degree weather.

Lots of roost and ground gobbling this week in my area. Every place i have listend i have heard birds. I have made birds shock gobble on the ground two hours after daylight. And in some those instances the shock gobbles came in response to the same sound three times in a five minute interval and that is the kind of response i usually cant get locally even in april It is full on here.