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Maryland Winter Turkey Season Harvest Up 25%

January Season Yield Spiked in Several Counties

Photo of turkeys in a snowy field

Photo by Isaac Bonneville, submitted to the 2017 Maryland DNR Photo Contest.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported that hunters took 84 wild turkeys during the 2023 winter turkey season, which was open statewide Jan. 19-21. This year’s harvest was 25% above the 2022 total of 67 turkeys.

Allegany, Frederick, Washington, Anne Arundel, and Charles counties reported the highest harvests. Adult males, or “toms”, comprised 70% of the harvest with the remainder being females and juveniles. About 77% were taken with a shotgun, but some hunters used a crossbow or vertical bow to harvest their turkeys.

The winter turkey season was established in 2015 to provide hunters with an additional hunting opportunity while minimizing conflicts with other hunting seasons. Turkey populations at one time were limited in Maryland. In the 1980s and 1990s, an extensive program to trap and relocate wild flocks successfully established populations in every county.

Maryland’s spring turkey season, the most popular time for turkey hunting, begins in April.

Winter Wild Turkey Season Harvest, 2017-2023

County

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Allegany

9

6

4

2

4

4

10

Anne Arundel

2

4

2

2

0

4

7

Baltimore

7

1

1

1

3

7

3

Calvert

0

1

1

2

0

0

3

Caroline

2

2

1

5

4

5

1

Carroll

2

3

2

5

1

3

5

Cecil

2

2

3

3

4

2

1

Charles

10

4

3

1

8

0

7

Dorchester

14

8

6

3

6

1

3

Frederick

6

6

7

3

12

3

9

Garrett

9

8

7

9

7

4

4

Harford

2

2

1

0

5

3

3

Howard

1

1

1

1

0

4

0

Kent

3

4

3

6

2

0

0

Montgomery

3

2

1

1

3

2

2

Prince George’s

3

0

2

5

7

1

0

Queen Anne’s

5

5

6

4

3

1

1

Somerset

3

2

4

6

3

4

3

St. Mary’s

7

10

6

13

6

9

6

Talbot

1

2

0

4

3

0

0

Washington

11

8

7

3

5

3

7

Wicomico

6

3

3

1

3

4

3

Worcester

1

3

2

2

0

3

6

  Total

109

87

73

82

89

67

84

 

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