Turkey harvest up slightly in Virginia

A total of 2,092 wild turkeys were harvested in Virginia during the 2020–21 fall turkey hunting season, a 3.7% increase over the last year’s harvest of 2,018 turkeys. The harvest declined approximately 1.5% in counties east of the Blue Ridge Mountains but increased 11% in counties west of the Blue Ridge. Nearly 96% of turkeys harvested this fall were reported through the electronic harvest reporting systems (telephone, online, and mobile app).

While Virginia’s turkey population is close to record levels for modern times, fall harvests will fluctuate due to a number of other factors beyond the population size. These factors, which vary across the state, include the length and timing of the fall season, annual variation in reproductive success, acorn abundance, hunting pressure, and weather.

According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife and Recreation, only 11 turkeys were reported harvested in Accomack County in the 2020-2021 season and five were reported in Northampton.

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