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WildTurkey_BugsandPoults_Burk_John_SteedmanMO_20March2024_Reel4199.mp3

John Burk [00:00:00] Poults: you know, they're precocial young. They come out of the egg. So, they basically literally hit the ground running.

John Burk [00:00:08] What we're finding, in current research, and part of the main reason why we're experiencing these declines, is because poult survival is not as good now as it was back when we were setting harvest records every year in the early 2000s.

John Burk [00:00:25] And again, there's a whole slew of reasons why. But that is the reason the decline is happening.

John Burk [00:00:31] In every other parameter that we look at, you know, adult survival, nesting rates, hatching rates, all of those statistics are within the realm of normal. But, poult survival is lower, significantly lower, than it used to be.

John Burk [00:00:45] And one of the things that will drive poult survival is time-to-first-flight. And if they're getting access to enough insects to, you know, basically grow at maximum rate, they're flying in nine days. And the quicker they can get off the ground at night, basically, your survival rates are going to be pretty close to what the adults are. Quicker they fly, the fewer that die.

John Burk [00:01:12] If they're not getting access to the proper amount of protein, they grow slower. And it might be two weeks before they get to fly, or later. And again, that's when they're the most vulnerable to predation, when they're stuck on the ground.

John Burk [00:01:27] You know, like I said, their diets, the first two weeks to a month, they're almost entirely insect-based...

John Burk [00:01:34] And I think there's more and more information coming to light to indicate that that that is probably a significant problem. I mean, when was the last time you had to pull off the side of the road at a gas station and wipe your windshield off because it was, you know, full of bug juice? I can't remember the last time, but I do remember doing that back in the day when we were setting harvest records every year.

John Burk [00:01:58] Insects are the fuel.

John Burk [00:02:00] And, you know, turkeys are the bird in decline that turkey hunters are very concerned about, for obvious reasons. But turkeys are not the only birds in decline. And all baby birds eat insects. And there's a lot of adult birds that eat insects. And those birds are also in decline - you know, nighthawks, whip-poor-wills. These are birds that eat bugs as adults. And their numbers are down.

John Burk [00:02:28] And some of the things that could be driving that? I think the 800-pound gorilla in the room is neonicotinoid, broad-spectrum pesticides that are, basically, it's a seed coating that came in use in the United States in the 1990s. And now virtually, almost every seed that goes into the ground for commercial crop-planting is treated with it. And even a lot of the plants that you would get, you know, Bonnie plants to put in your vegetable garden, most of those plants have been treated because it's effective.

John Burk [00:03:04] Basically, any insect that feeds on a plant that's treated with that, or nectars on it, is going to be negatively affected... It's a, it's a neurotoxin...

John Burk [00:03:16] So, you know, is that part of it, is that part of the problem? I think it probably is.

John Burk [00:03:22] But definitely insect densities are part of the issue.

John Burk [00:03:25] And again, that's one of the ways you can improve it is, is to manage for that early brood-rearing habitat. You know, that first successional stage is going to have, particularly if it's native vegetation, it's going to have a higher number and a higher variety of insects.