# What time of day do Turkeys head for their roosts?



## aquanator

Being fairly new to hunting turkeys, I've mainly hunted in the morning and now have the chance to hunt a couple of evenings on my brothers property which contains nice mature oak trees the turkeys like to roost in.

I know in the moring as soon as it's light they fly down. At night, what time of day do they head for their roosting area? Based on my schedule, I can probably be set up by 6:30pm, I know sunset tonight is projected to occur at 8:43pm. So I'm trying to figure out when roughly I should expect them to be coming into the roosting section of the woods.

Also, I've heard they don't call much n the evening, so I'm assuming reducing my calling would be wise?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.


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## wyle_e_coyote

The turkey in my area have not been going to roost until the last minutes of daylight. They come out into the cut cornfield and feed around 7ish and do not leave untill the sun is about half set on the horizon.

Well...there will be one less Tom feeding there...after yesterday morning.


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## FISH

in my area, barry county it seems i hear them start to fly up at 7:30, with everyone asleep by 8pm


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## bigrackmack

Most the times half hour before sunset......Mack


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## Mitchell Ulrich

While I avoid hunting in the roost area at all costs..sometimes, time or lack of it, makes it the only option.

I had always been curious as to just what "magical things" happen in the forbidden roost area. Everyone had told me about it,... what to look for, where to find one,..never to hunt "IN" one for the obvious reasons. So one year, some 10 seasons or so ago, I had tagged out early on the first day and decided to see for myself just what was going on inside "The Roost Area".

From what I've seen happen, the boss hen usually comes in alone. On a few occasions she has brought in another hen or two with her, but usually she was alone. 
This happened about 45 minuets before dark. She/they pick their way through, scanning the surroundings as they went. When sure that everything is as it should be, she left! About 30 minuets later, the rest of the flock came in single file. (At first I thought that she did this because I had been seen entering their roost area. However, this routine was repeated on several consecutive nights)
Then they fanned out, pecking and scratching for about 10 minuets. When you see them start to flap their wings for what seems like feather track realignment, they are actually warming up flight muscles. Shortly after that, one by one, then two and three at a time, they took off cackling and breaking branches as they went into the trees. Seems like it's not just up to the tree to roost but rather jump from limb to limb and sometimes switching trees until they find just the right spot for the night. It really made a heck of alot of noise that lasted for about 2 or 3 mineuts...then it changed to soft peeps and kee-kee's.
One of the things that really struck me about the whole ordeal, is just how hard it is to spot a 20 pound bird in a bare tree! I knew there were 4 or 5 birds in one particular tree, but you 'd never known that if you had not seen it yourself...now I believe the story's that I hear about people setting up under a roosted bird and never knowing that it was there. 

Mitch


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## wyle_e_coyote

I've witnessed it severel times from my tree stand during deer season.
Remember, the Tom's don't usually roost near the hens in the spring. Jakes might...but the Toms don't.


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## Playin' Hooky

In the woods I hunt the birds are entering slightly before sunset and are usually flying up as the sun hits the horizon--almost to the minute!

Remember, too that SPRING hunting hours end 1/2 hour BEFORE SUNSET...which normally takes a true "roost" out of play.

A recent story in an outdoor paper described a young hunter taking a bird on its way to roost. The times provided may have indicated a violation of shooting hours, depending on the county hunted...


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## codygrant1062

I have a flock of thirty plus turkeys that roost at the edge of my pasture in large pines and mixed hardwood mature trees. Fly down time can depend on weather, foggy, a little later than on clear mornings. The lead hen comes down and starts talking to the others until she’s sure everything is good. I have been out working close to them before they fly down and they will just freeze up until I’m gone. Remember, any movement at all is considered danger so don’t blink, I’m serious, they have eyesight of an eagle or better and one wrong flinch will blow your whole hunt. At night, same thing, don’t blink…. The lead hen checks everything out first, be patient cause she may disappear for up to ten minutes then they start filing in. They do their little stretch routine and straighten up any flight feathers, then they fly up couple at a time, usually older birds first then the rest. The older toms are usually in the choice spots up high along with the lead and older hens and the rest scattered around them. This usually happens right at dark, to dark to shoot. In the spring, the toms are a few trees away, just not with the hens. Jakes will mix in with hens or toms. The mature toms usually come down after the hens and head off in their own feeding circle…. During breeding they are chasing hens but love new hens in the neighborhood so can be called away to come check out the new girl in town…. Don’t blink or your busted. Better in a blind. Open sitting, look just over top of your knees and keep eyes squinted so you barely blink and do not move gun until your ready to shoot, be fluid and quick or you’ll be eating crow.


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