It may sound like the punchline to a joke Minnesotans would tell, but Iowa’s brimming with turkeys this year. Terry Little, assistant chief of the Iowa D-N-R’s Wildlife Bureau, says the state’s wild turkey numbers are looking great, especially after the relatively warm winter.The first of four turkey hunting seasons in Iowa begins April 15th. At least 60-thousand turkey hunters are expected to try their luck this year. Little says it’s not an exact science to determine how many turkeys are flapping around in Iowa at the moment.The highest density of turkeys is south of Interstate 80, in northeast Iowa and in the Loess Hills, but Little says they can be found almost anywhere there is good tree cover. Little can make a general estimate about Iowa’s wild turkey population.About 200-thousand wild birds are out in the woodlands while about 20-thousand will be taken by hunters this year. The spring turkey seasons are: Season 1, April 15 – 18; Season 2, April 19 – 23 (residents only); Season 3, April 24 – 30; Season 4, May 1 – 19.
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