On two different evenings recently, driving the back roads of Cass and Morrison counties to and from my wife’s family’s cabin, I spotted wild turkeys loitering by the roadside, or hustling to cross the pavement en route from one ditch to the other.

The mantra when driving these roads, especially early or late in the

day, has always

been “watch for

deer,” the idea being to avoid a collision that could be fatal for the whitetail and expens ive for the driver. These days, thanks to a steadily expanding range, wild turkeys present another reason for caution, though it poses much more risk to the critter than to the car.

As proof of that point, on one of these trips I also saw a turkey carcass just off the road’s shoulder. Being a person who uses many different bird feathers

in making fishing lures,

I was tempted to stop and “relieve” the carcass of a

few feathers. The wild turkey has some of the most beautifully marked and iridescent feathers of any bird. I used “already late” as an excuse to drive on by, but my angler’s conscience bothered me afterward.

Days later, in deep woods, following the meanderings of a trout stream, I heard a single “boom” of a shotgun. To a person who has hunted north central and northern Minnesota for several decades, spring has not historically been a time for the sound of shotguns. The booming of a ruffed grouse drumming, perhaps, but not firearms.

“Turkey hunter” seemed the best explanation. With the steady expansion of the wild turkey’s range in Minnesota, owing to the Minnesota DNR trapping wild birds and stocking them in new locations, turkeys have come to be not only common here, but hunted, as well. Unlike most game birds, there are both fall and spring hunting seasons for wild turkeys.

Turkey hunters are among the most devoted and skilled of any group. They have to be, because wild turkeys are smart, wary birds. Romance is often their undoing, as hunters typically use decoys and turkey calls and play on mating season competitiveness and “amore” to lure a Tom into range for a shot.

Wild turkeys were a game management success story at first limited for several decades to the Mississippi River bluff country of southeast Minnesota, before their growing popularity prompted the DNR to attempt capturing and stocking them to establish huntable flocks elsewhere in the state.

It was once thought that cold temperatures and deep snows would prevent their succeeding much farther north than the Twin Cities. But now, it appears that food availability may be the only limiting factor. Wild turkeys are thriving in places far to the north of that, places where the traditional native game bird was the ruffed grouse.

A friend living on wooded property near Crosby in Crow Wing County now finds her family “serenaded” in early morning by turkeys, something not always welcome when you want to sleep in. Wildlife photographer Bill Marchel of rural Brainerd has found wild turkeys feeding on buds in aspen trees in winter, where you might expect to see ruffed grouse instead.

As an avid grouse hunter, one of my fears is that the novelty and wave of popularity of wild turkeys will lead to a shift in wildlife habitat management away from ruffed grouse, the native woodland bird of North Central and Northern Minnesota.

Turkeys do better in mature forests, while grouse do better in mixed age for- ests where there has been some disturbance by logging, fire, or both. A lack of timber harvest and allowing hardwood forests to grow to a mature stage, favors wild turkeys over grouse. In that respect turkeys are easier for wildlife management to “produce” than grouse.

There are differences of opinion as to whether there is much direct competition between grouse and turkeys. But the young of both species feed heavily on insects. Both grouse and turkeys eat wild fruits, seeds and nuts, while turkeys are more likely to forage for waste grains than are grouse. Knowing that turkeys in winter will feed on the same aspen buds on which grouse are so dependent, does make me a little nervous.

It’s a drama that is still being played out, but one that few are saying much about. In the meantime, no one can deny that the spread of wild turkeys has been a boon to many hunters across the state. A boon also to sporting goods retailers, as turkey hunting is a niche market with its own particular gear, accoutrements and even sporting firearms.

And no one can deny that a wild turkey is a prize, both in bragging rights and on the dinner table.