ALBANY – Spring turkey season opens on Sunday, May 1, in all of upstate New York north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary. In addition, DEC’s annual youth turkey hunting weekend will take place on Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24. The youth turkey hunt for junior hunters ages 12 to 15 is open in all of upstate New York and Suffolk County.
The spring turkey harvest in New York averages approximately 19,000 birds and varies based on the number of participants and turkey productivity in the previous few spring seasons.
This spring, DEC biologists expect hunters to take more turkeys than last year. Hunters prefer to take toms (birds older than two years) over younger male jakes, so typically wildlife managers see a two-year lag between summer productivity and spring take. Overall, turkey populations are lower than a few years ago due to below-average reproductive success in two of the last three years. However, improved turkey productivity in 2020 will mean a greater proportion of toms available to hunters this spring compared to last year, DEC said.
