We used GPS data to monitor 451 nests across 5 years on pine-dominated sites, and found that 76% of all nests failed with predation being the primary cause. We also found that the probability of nest failure increased for each day females delayed incubation following the mean incubation date – meaning nests initiated after peaks in nest incubation were less successful. Our findings also suggested that concealment at the nest was important to prevent predation, but otherwise other landscape and vegetation variables didn’t seem to influence nest success.
Behavioral Strategies During Incubation Influence Nest and Female Survival of Wild Turkeys
We used GPS data on hens during incubation to examine how their
