Turkey Talk Program 

ASO’s November meeting welcomed some new faces as we “gobbled” food watching the fascinating PBS documentary, “My Life as a Turkey.” 

Our guest speaker, Dr. Mark Vrtiska, Wildlife Management Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, shared updates on the first year of the three-year $4-million study of Nebraska’s wild turkey population, which has decreased 45% since 2009. Sixty turkeys are being trapped each year in two geographic locations. Blood samples are taken and GPS trackers attached to assess their health and track their movement. The goals of the study, which includes genome testing, are to understand the factors contributing to the decline and to restore the wild turkey popluation.

HawkWatch Field Trip 

Nine brave birders climbed the tower at Hitchcock Nature Center for our November HawkWatch field trip. It was sunny, but the cold temps and wind chased the birders inside after Bob Wells, past ASO president, pointed out several hawks. Warming up inside, they learned how to access the HawkWatch website data.