By. Alexis Hill, Intern
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is encouraging Tennesseans and visitors to report wild turkey sightings as the agency’s 2026 Summer Wild Turkey Observation Survey enters its final month.
The public survey remains open through Aug. 31 and helps wildlife biologists monitor turkey reproduction and population trends across the state.
“As we begin to wind down another summer, please remember to report your sightings of wild turkeys to TWRA via the annual summer turkey survey,” said Roger Shields, TWRA Wild Turkey Program Coordinator. “Whether you see gobblers, jakes, hens with poults, or hens without poults, they are all important observations for the survey. So please take time to report any turkeys you see this month.”
TWRA’s goal is to receive at least 30 observations from each of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Last year, the agency received reports from every county except Crockett County.
Agency staff have conducted the summer survey annually since the 1980s, while public participation has become part of the effort over the past five years. The data collected allows TWRA to compare annual nesting success and population trends, helping guide wildlife management decisions throughout Tennessee.
First-time participants can visit the TWRA website to learn how to identify different types of wild turkeys, take a brief identification quiz and submit observations online.
TWRA also provides annual wild turkey status reports and previous survey summaries on its website. Officials say every observation submitted before the Aug. 31 deadline helps improve the agency’s understanding of Tennessee’s wild turkey population.
