Turkey Tuesday
Importance of Preening
This Turkey Tuesday is about an activity that wild turkeys partake in every day – preening. Preening is an important maintenance behavior that sees the bird use their beaks to
August 4, 2026
A series from Wild Turkey Lab exploring the history of wild turkey research and the people who made it a success, both current and past. This is the Spotlight on Lovett Williams with Dr. Mike Chamberlain and Brandon Smithwick from Wild Turkey Lab. It’s the first of several to come with information, facts, and stories that you’ll not want to miss.
We proudly partner with the National Wild Turkey Federation.
Stay tuned for updates. We have some really interesting and informative projects in the works together.
In the meantime, check out our newest project, the NWTF Symposia Archive!
Steven Rinella talks with Michael Chamberlain, Brody Henderson, Seth Morris, and Janis Putelis.
Topics discussed: Just how much is a unit of blood?; packin’ tourniquets; how Jani’s wife won’t give Steve weasel trapping permission; etymology; hunting turkeys with dogs; the kee-kee run; how many critters kill and eat turkeys?; the wild turkey Bermuda Triangle; more things that make a turkey gobble; mesomammals; lies your daddy told you about wildlife; song meters and gobbling data; some big turkeys get all of the love; will hunting go to hell?; having an incredible sense of place and a big home range; hatching into a social hierarchy; and more.
This Turkey Tuesday is about an activity that wild turkeys partake in every day – preening. Preening is an important maintenance behavior that sees the bird use their beaks to
This Turkey Tuesday is about the process that all wild turkeys are going through right now – molting. Wild turkeys all across North America are replacing their feathers. That’s why
This Turkey Tuesday is about finding a cool place to hang out. Where I live, the temperatures have been brutal and when outside, you’re figuring out a way to stay
This Turkey Tuesday is about a classic case of symbiosis. Have you ever noticed that wild turkeys often end up spending time, typically feeding, in areas where deer are doing
This Turkey Tuesday is about taking a dip. Wild turkeys are obviously not considered water birds, so you don’t think of swimming when turkeys come to mind. However, records of
This Turkey Tuesday is about poult adoption, where a hen actively broods’ poults that are not her own. Gamebirds like wild turkeys are not well known for adopting offspring they
This Turkey Tuesday is about the attractiveness of plowed soil to wild turkeys. If you spend much time watching turkeys in the spring and early summer, you’ll often see them
This Turkey Tuesday is about leucistic wild turkeys, which in many ways are a great example of the phrase “birds of a different feather”. Many people would glance at this
This Turkey Tuesday is about that age-old expression to leave well enough alone. Turkey seasons are over or ending, deer season is months away, and many of us want to
In this episode, Paul sits down with Dr. Michael Chamberlain for a wide-ranging conversation on one of the most important (and fast-evolving) frontiers in wild turkey science: genetics. Dr. Chamberlain
Dr. Mike Chamberlain analyzes the recent decline in turkey populations across America and discusses the historical restoration efforts driven by grassroots volunteers. The conversation explores how changing landscapes, predation, and
In this episode of the 100% WILD Podcast, Matt Drury and Tim Kjellesvik sit down with Dr. Mike Chamberlain, the “Wild Turkey Doc” and NWTF distinguished professor, to address the
This Turkey Tuesday is about bearded hens. Each spring, you see images and videos on social media of bearded hens, and typically the comments section is full of inaccuracies and
This Turkey Tuesday is about shaking it out. If you get to watch turkeys for any extended period of time, you’ll see them shake their feathers out – which is
This Turkey Tuesday is about a wild turkey’s vision, which is something that has tested all of us turkey hunters over the past few months. The other day on a
This Turkey Tuesday is about wild turkey oddities and will be the last Turkey Tuesday for April while I take some time to chase turkeys rather than post about them.
This Turkey Tuesday is about the uncanny ability that toms have to locate the source of our calls. Each year I post about this ability, because every turkey hunter gets
We evaluated whether hens started using different vegetative communities with the onset of egg laying to see if perhaps vegetation for nesting was limited within their home ranges. We measured
This Turkey Tuesday is about calling as a group. The mating system of the wild turkey hinges on a form of lekking, which involves toms displaying together to attract attention
This Turkey Tuesday is about the kaleidoscope of colors that appear on the plumage of toms. When toms strut for hens, it’s not just the display itself that’s designed to
This Turkey Tuesday is about the muscles involved in strutting. There isn’t much better as a turkey hunter than watching a tom strut as he approaches you – in many
This Turkey Tuesday is about an activity that wild turkeys partake in every day – preening. Preening is an important maintenance behavior that sees the
This Turkey Tuesday is about the process that all wild turkeys are going through right now – molting. Wild turkeys all across North America are
This Turkey Tuesday is about finding a cool place to hang out. Where I live, the temperatures have been brutal and when outside, you’re figuring
This Turkey Tuesday is about a classic case of symbiosis. Have you ever noticed that wild turkeys often end up spending time, typically feeding, in
This Turkey Tuesday is about taking a dip. Wild turkeys are obviously not considered water birds, so you don’t think of swimming when turkeys come
This Turkey Tuesday is about poult adoption, where a hen actively broods’ poults that are not her own. Gamebirds like wild turkeys are not well
This Turkey Tuesday is about the attractiveness of plowed soil to wild turkeys. If you spend much time watching turkeys in the spring and early
This Turkey Tuesday is about leucistic wild turkeys, which in many ways are a great example of the phrase “birds of a different feather”. Many
This Turkey Tuesday is about that age-old expression to leave well enough alone. Turkey seasons are over or ending, deer season is months away, and