Birds breaking up yet?

[x1957x]

Just wondering with the past few good days if anyone has seen birds startng to break up yet?  Whats the weather like in your area. Heard eastern mn. has a chance for some snow this week.

[monstermoose78]

Birds are breaking up by me 

[paceman]

Just drove by a nice flock this morning. 7 toms in full strut and about 10 hens all milling around in a group. I stopped to watch for a few minutes. 1 Jake was lurking about 100 yards away. Fun to see but this flock was not broken up...

[Scoot]

My sightings are a lot like paceman's-- birds seem to mostly be bunched up still.  However, I just got permission to hunt where a good group of them are bunched, so I hope they don't break up between now and opener!  There are several big ol' toms in the group and I'd sure like to get my daughter a crack at one of them! 

[Sturg]

I think the hens are still grouped together but the gobblers are breaking up and have set the pecking order.  I love to photograph turkeys and have been out the last couple of weeks.  I was out yesterday in a nature center and I saw 13 different toms.  Some are in groups, and there were at least 3 moving as singles.  The jakes were grouped together but were on the fringe.  There were two groups of 3 toms, two groups of two toms and then 3 single toms.  All were strutting and gobbling.  I did not see any of them with their own hen(s).  The hens were traveling all together.  Two hens did break off and hung around the big three for about 30 minutes.  One of  those hens called loudly several times and got all the boys gobbling. I saw the dominant gobbler thump the jakes and other single toms. It was great morning watching.  One the hens has a 6 or 7in beard.  I've seen her twice but haven't got a good picture of her yet.

Big 3

Calling Hen in a squeeze play

Single tom following the hen group

The second group of 3 toms

[Illini Walli]

great pix !!

on my recent scouts, some flocks starting to break up, others still together

had a group of 35 come out in a field after flydown, including nine strutters. they all eventually passed at about 50 yards

shoulda had a camera ... or a call

[Scoot]

Great pics Sturg!

[O.T.C.]

Just finally noticed some of this on the ride this AM, one group of hens(7) followed by a tom and the rest roughly 40 birds were still in a group with 4 toms competing by a guys turkey/pheasant/deer feeder so it kinda bites a bit as he can hold birds right near his house and then his kids blow the toms away most Springs but what do you do. He has the ideal set up to feed em as they roost every night right in his yard basically. Did see then a 1/2 mile away a lone tom so they want to spread out now I think. This weather though I think the feeder will get plenty of use yet until we warm decently.

[paceman]

Last night I watched a flock out in a field. There was a big Tom about 40 yards to one side and 6 jakes about 50 yards on the other side of a flock of 7 hens. It was interesting that 1 hen appeared to be running back and forth keeping the tom and jakes at bay. whenever they came close she would run over and give chase. The big Tom puffed up a few times but kind of half heartedly. Eventually they all meandered over a hill and out of sight. My son and I will be in that field Saturday morning...

[DonBo]

Shot a bird this morning that followed 20 hens into the field.  Not fully broken up yet.

[nbadger23]

Saturday in Wisconsin -25 birds together in the a.m. and didn't break up for the 3 hours we could see them. Sunday morning - they were definitely broken up.  SE MN - had 3 toms "push" a hen through the woods behind the house today around 11 a.m.  It's certainly fun to see that many birds at once but if you're not in the right place at the right time it can also be discouraging.