GRAND JUNCTION — A joint project between the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the United States Air Force Academy Department of Natural Resources successfully captured 23 wild turkeys on Air Force Academy grounds Thursday, Feb. 15.

Biologists captured a total of 16 females (hens) and 7 males (toms) just after dawn. The birds were placed in custom-made cardboard crates for transport to a release site west of Grand Junction.

The transplanted birds will start a new flock in Unit 30 in a location where wild turkeys are not presently found.

This project was just one of many trap and transplant operations in Colorado in the past several weeks. Birds are generally easier to capture during the winter months as they are more apt to show up at feeding sites where biologists lure them in with a mixture of cracked corn and oat hay.

Prior to the pioneer days, wild turkeys were abundant in Colorado, but during the state’s early settlement years, poachers who were after meat and feathers slaughtered turkeys in huge numbers. Habitat destruction also caused the number of birds to decline.

By the 1920s, less than 500 birds remained in the state. Thanks to conservation efforts and an ongoing management program, the Division of Wildlife reports the wild turkey population is at the highest its ever been in recorded history.

Colorado is home to two subspecies of wild turkeys. The Merriam’s wild turkey, a Colorado native, inhabits areas of ponderosa pine, oakbrush and piñon/juniper woodlands. The Rio Grand wild turkey, native to the central plains states and introduced into eastern Colorado in 1980, inhabits cottonwood and riparian areas adjacent to agricultural lands.

Mark Elkins, senior terrestrial biologist in Colorado Springs, said the birds handle the snow and cold very well, but when the snows are deep, it is more difficult for them to find food. The turkey’s main predators are bobcats and coyotes. Sometimes the birds die from disease or accidents, but basically, snow depth is the worst single factor in winter mortality.

Despite some question as to whether the bird is intelligent, Elkins said they have excellent senses. "As far as calling turkeys smart, that is difficult to say," he said. "While they may not be the smartest bird in the tree, their sense of hearing and sight is excellent."

Colorado has two hunting seasons for turkey, one in the spring and one in the fall. Elkins said less hunters participate in the fall season because of the number of other hunting seasons that occur at the same time.

During the spring, hunters are more likely to hear a turkey before they see it. The familiar "gobble-gobble" can be heard as flocks of adult males begin to break up and each tom attempts to setup his own territory.

As territorial squabbles ensue, the males call and strut to attract females. As a result, the males are easy to hear in the spring.

During the spring, hunters can harvest a bearded turkey using a variety of methods of take. A turkey taken in the spring must have a beard to be legal.

During the fall turkey season, hunters can harvest either sex.

This year’s spring turkey season runs from April 14 to May 27 in most parts of the state. The fall season runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 7.