The wild turkey, extirpated from Michigan by the early twentieth century, now roams every one of the state’s 83 counties, a turnaround that wildlife officials attribute to decades of restoration work. To maintain that momentum, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is again enlisting the public as eyes and ears during its annual turkey brood survey, which runs from July 1 through August 31.
This is the fourth year for the survey, which asks residents to report sightings of turkey broods — hens accompanied by their young, called poults — along with any toms (adult males) and other hens seen. Participants fill out a simple online form noting the date, county, and numbers of each type of bird observed.
Citizen Scientists Help Track Reproduction
The survey turns outdoor recreationists into data collectors, allowing wildlife biologists to gauge turkey reproduction across Michigan’s varied landscapes. “Summer is one of the best times of year to see wild turkey families,” said Adam Bump, the DNR’s upland game bird specialist. “Every brood observation helps us better understand how many young turkeys are surviving and where reproduction is occurring across Michigan.” The information gathered during the two-month window feeds directly into the department’s wildlife management decisions, helping biologists identify which regions have strong recruitment and which may need more attention.
The DNR is essentially asking the public to become citizen scientists for a couple of months each summer. The survey is available only during July and August, when poults are most visible following hens through fields and forest edges.
Each sighting submitted adds to a growing database that the agency uses to track annual fluctuations in turkey numbers and to evaluate the health of the state’s wild turkey population.
From Near Extinction to Statewide Success
The wild turkey’s recovery in Michigan stands as “one of the state’s greatest conservation success stories,” according to the DNR. The native North American game bird, Meleagris gallopavo, once thrived across much of the continent before European settlement disrupted its habitat and unregulated hunting drove most populations to local extinction. By 1900, the bird had completely vanished from Michigan, a pattern repeated in many eastern states.
Restoration efforts began in the 1950s, when state wildlife agencies and conservation groups captured surviving populations in other regions and released them into suitable forests and woodlands. Michigan’s reintroduction started with releases in the southern Lower Peninsula and gradually expanded northward, often using wild-trapped birds from successful pockets in neighboring states.
Decades of trapping, transport, and habitat protection allowed the population to rebound beyond its historic range. Today, wild turkeys occupy every county in Michigan, and the species supports two regulated hunting seasons — spring and fall — that attract tens of thousands of hunters and their associated spending power to the Michigan woods.
A Coordinated Multistate Monitoring Effort
The annual turkey brood survey is part of a larger multistate effort supported by the National Wild Turkey Federation, which uses a standardized survey protocol to monitor turkey populations across the bird’s expanded range. This collaboration ensures that data collected in Michigan can be compared with information from other states, providing regional insight into reproduction trends and habitat conditions.
The survey reflects a broader commitment to wildlife management that treats citizen contributions as a valuable, cost-effective tool for tracking a species that was once nearly lost. The wild turkey’s comeback illustrates how targeted conservation can reverse extirpation and restore both ecological and economic benefits. By asking the public to submit their brood observations each summer, Michigan’s DNR continues a tradition of engaging citizens in stewardship while maintaining pressure on the wildlife management priorities that brought the species back from the brink.
For residents during July and August, the message is clear: keep an eye out for turkey families, and share what you see.
