Londonderry News

Looks like this “Citizen Author” & “Citizen Photogropher” thing is catching on!  Our list of contributors grows bringing you the news of Londonderry as it happens along with some great places to see and travel to nearby!

Right in your backyard the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is asking you to become a “Citizen Biologist” and help with identifying any flock of turkeys you may see this year.

If you see a flock of wild turkeys in New Hampshire this winter, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department would like to hear about it. For the second consecutive year, citizens are being asked to Report sightings of turkey flocks seen from now through March 31, 2010, by filling out a simple electronic survey form posted on the Fish and Game website.

Please do not report multiple sightings of the same flock.

May 2009 lone Londonderry turkey near the Airport in a field near the wood line

The Winter Flock Survey will bolster Fish and Game’s understanding of the abundance and distribution of turkeys during New Hampshire’s challenging winter months. The survey asks participants to report the number of turkeys in the flock; the location where they were seen; the type of habitat the birds were observed in; and what the turkeys were feeding on, such as acorns, beechnuts, seed at birdfeeders, or corn silage.

The survey is designed to fill gaps in Fish and Game’s existing winter flock data collection efforts. “For parts of the state, especially eastern and northern New Hampshire, we could benefit by additional sighting reports,” said Ted Walski, Turkey Project Leader at Fish and Game. “This reporting system will allow the public to contribute important information to our understanding of winter turkey status in an inexpensive, efficient and, hopefully, enjoyable way.” Last winter, people responding to the survey reported over 1,500 flocks totaling nearly 24,000 turkeys, and encompassing all areas of the state.

Winter is the best time to census the birds because turkeys gather in large, highly visible flocks at this time of year. Knowledge of the status of wintering turkeys is particularly important in New Hampshire, because of the challenges of severe winter weather and limited natural food supplies. There are an estimated 40,000 wild turkeys in New Hampshire. Turkeys were restored to NH by the Fish and Game Department, beginning in 1975.

Turkey Hen at Shot out the Parmenter Farmhouse window on Route 102 with 8 chick July 9th 2009