Wild turkeys need secure roost sites to rest and sleep at night. As hunters and land managers, understanding what a turkey roost looks like and where to find one is key for successful turkey management and hunting. In this detailed guide, we will cover everything you need to know about turkey roosting habits and how to locate roosts on your property.
Ideal Roost Tree Characteristics
Turkeys prefer to roost in the tallest, most mature trees available. Large trees with wide trunks and branches that are high off the ground make the best roosts. Here are the key features wild turkeys look for in a roost tree:
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Size and Height – Turkeys feel safest in the tallest trees in an area. Look for trees with large diameter trunks and thick branches Height provides protection from predators.
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Open Branches – Turkeys want to be able to fly directly into the tree without hitting any low branches. Clear access below the roost allows easy flight up to the branches at night and down in the morning
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Thick Cover – Dense foliage provides concealment and shelter from weather and winds. Evergreens like cedars are popular in winter.
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Open Areas Nearby – Roost trees will often be adjacent to open fields or clearings, allowing easy flight access to feeding areas.
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Proximity to Water – Being near creeks, rivers, or other water sources is appealing. Turkeys like being able to hear water flowing as they roost.
Favorite Roost Tree Species
Wild turkeys are opportunistic and utilize diverse tree species for night-time roosting. However, certain trees tend to be preferred roosting habitat when available:
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Oaks – Large oak trees often make prime roosting locations in hardwood forests. Red oaks, white oaks, live oaks and others are frequently used.
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Pines – Tall pines found in upland areas or along creek drainages provide excellent cover.
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Cedars – Thick, densely branched Eastern red cedars give protection from wind and cold.
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Maples – Sugar maples have expansive branches perfect for roosting. Other maples like red maple are also popular.
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Cottonwoods – These fast-growing trees reach tall heights perfect for roosting along rivers and streams.
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Beech – Mature American beech trees with wide spreading crowns make sturdy roosts.
Signs of an Active Roost
To locate actual roost trees in the wild, look for these signs of frequent turkey use:
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Feathers – Fresh feathers scattered on the ground are a clear giveaway of an active roost site above.
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Droppings – Look for piled up turkey droppings around a potential roost. Circular hen droppings vs. J-shaped gobbler droppings.
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Scratchings – Look for areas of scratched up leaves and dirt under roost trees where turkeys have been feeding.
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Tracks – Gobbler tracks are about 4 inches long. Hens have smaller 3 inch tracks.
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Turkey Sounds – Listen for yelps, purrs, and flying up/down sounds at dawn and dusk.
Locating Potential Roost Areas
When scouting new properties for the first time, focus on these habitats where you’re most likely to find turkey roosting activity:
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Mature Upland Forests – Look for tall hardwoods or pines with open understories conducive to roosting.
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River & Creek Drainages – Search along riparian areas for large cottonwoods and maples.
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Hardwood Hollows – Check mature oaks in hallows and draws protected from wind.
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Timber Edges – Transition zones between forests and open fields are prime roosting spots.
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Evergreen Stands – Cedars and pine groves provide winter roosting habitat.
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Recent Clearcuts – New growth around tall residual trees left after logging provides good roosting.
Roosting Habits and Behaviors
Understanding the roosting cycle and habits of wild turkeys can further help you locate active roost sites:
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Turkeys show high roost site fidelity. They use the same trees repeatedly for months if undisturbed.
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Males and females generally roost separately but within 100 yards of each other.
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Dominant adult gobblers roost higher up than younger jakes and hens.
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In flocks, subordinate juveniles roost on outside branches for quick escape.
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Roost tree use changes seasonally as turkeys follow food sources.
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Evergreens are preferred in winter for thermal cover. Deciduous trees allow more sunlight in summer.
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Man-made structures like barns and hunting blinds are sometimes substituted for trees.
Tips for Hunting Near Roost Sites
Once you’ve found an active roost area, use these strategies to increase your turkey hunting success:
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Scout morning fly-down zones and setup downwind 100-200 yards away.
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Identify evening fly-up trails and set ambush sites nearby.
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Target open strutting areas within 1⁄4 mile of the roost.
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Avoid excessive disturbance under the roost itself to prevent relocation.
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Note wind direction; approach roosts from downwind when possible.
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Consider roosting cycles and shift setup locations throughout season.
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Be mobile. Follow birds to new roost sites if they move around.
Locating active turkey roosting areas is critical for both hunting and managing land for wild turkeys. Use this guide to identify prime roost trees, search for signs of use, and explore habitats turkeys prefer. With knowledge of their roosting behaviors, you’ll gain a key advantage for successful turkey hunting for years to come.
The research results might give hunters a better idea where to set up on unfamiliar properties
You get to know a farm like the back of your hand when you turkey hunt it long enough. You know where the longbeards go to strut, where they like to dust, where they feed, and where they fly up each night to roost. Have you ever noticed that one patch, or even certain tree, seems to be preferred night after night and year after year?
Certain trees seem to be popular roost spots night after night and year after year. by John Hafner
A new research study out of Canada sought to find out what makes those spots a favorite. The research was conducted and authored by Elizabeth A. Adey and Jennifer E. Baici from Trent University in Ontario, along with Jeff Bowman at the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The study looked at 48 roost spots used by 45 tagged Eastern wild turkeys. The sample consisted of 24 adults, 21 juveniles, and was made up of 22 male birds and 23 females. The study was located along Ontario’s northernmost range of the wild turkey in mostly agricultural areas. Seasonal designations for the roosting locations were labeled as winter, ranging from November 1 to April 30, summer, from May 1 till the end of October, and roosts that were used year round.
After trapping the turkeys and attaching the GPS and VHF transmitters, the team then followed the birds for a total of two years, logging nightly roost locations and returning to those locations during the day to take notes on characteristics for each spot. They had a list of questions they wanted to answer. Did proximity to food or water sources play a role? How about thermoregulation? Did the turkeys seek out thicker conifers during colder or windier periods? How did manmade things like buildings and roads affect roost locations? Was there a particular kind or size of tree that seemed to be chosen more often as a roost location?
Here’s What They Found
Eleven species of tree were used as roost sites on multiple nights, including American beech, American elm, basswood, black ash, black locust, eastern white cedar (21% of the time), large tooth aspen, Norway maple, Manitoba maple, sugar maple (the most frequently used at 29%), and trembling aspen. Another 15 species were used as single night roosts or were used infrequently. Again, when it came to these tree species, maples and evergreens made up the bulk of the trees used.
Large maples were one of the most commonly chosen roost trees in the study. by Michusa
The study also found that thermodynamics didn’t seem to play a great role in the type of tree chosen as a roost. An interesting note was that the measured temperature of roost locations in both coniferous and deciduous trees was slightly warmer than the ambient temperature surrounding the roosts. The researchers also found that there were some microclimate differences between types of trees, but the pattern was not what the researchers expected. Summer temperatures were warmer in a deciduous tree than either a coniferous tree or surrounding ambient temperature. While temperature didn’t seem to play a large role in roost location, the study did find that the turkeys seemed to favor the coniferous sites during high winds, likely because of the shelter they provided.
While temperature didn’t seem to affect roost tree choice, protection from wind seemed to favor evergreens. by Jeffery B. Banke
The takeaway, if you have large maples or cedars on the farm you are scouting, check under them for droppings or feathers that might signal a roost area. They were a resounding favorite among the sampled turkeys.
But what if you hunt the southern or western states where many of these trees don’t grow? Ask yourself, what it is that appeals to the turkeys about these trees? The maples are likely some of the largest trees in the study area. They also have limbs that start well off the ground. The evergreens provide coverage from wind and weather. Chances are good that there are tree species in your area that fit those descriptions. For scouting purposes, one of the main lessons is that wild turkey roosts in the study were predominantly influenced by tree characteristics, and not by site characteristics.
Turkeys roosted in taller trees with larger diameters than nearby non-roost trees. Trees with lower limbs that were higher off the ground were more frequently chosen as well.
The researchers hypothesized that the height and shape findings suggest that reducing predation risk may be the most important benefit of roosts for wild turkeys in the study area. Large trees may also be important to accommodate large flocks of roosting birds. The researchers found that flock hierarchies played a role in perch locations within a roost, with more dominant birds roosting higher in the tree, and that perches close to the ground were lower quality due to increased predation risk. If you sneak in close one morning and can see the roosted birds, keep your eyes on the highest turkeys, as they are most likely the more dominant adults in the flock.
The research found that flock hierarchy played a role in roost locations with more dominant birds roosting higher in the tree. by Bill Konway
The research found that distances between roost trees and buildings, roads, and crops differed among seasons. Roosts were, on average, more than 100 meters closer to buildings in the winter compared to roosts used year-round or roosts used in the summer. Winter roosts were farther away from crops compared to year-round roosts. Summer roosts were closer to roads than the roosts in the winter and the roosts used year-round. There was no difference between roosts in the winter and the roosts used year-round in road proximity. Roost sites in the study tended to be closer to water than to food sources.
The takeaway for scouting your hunting property? Don’t worry about a road or building causing birds to shy away when scouting for roost locations. And don’t necessarily key in on crops as a draw for roosting birds.
How does this study help a hunter scouting for roost locations on a new property? Key in on the largest, tallest trees in the area first. Look for trees that don’t have low hanging limbs. Once you find a likely roost location, remember it. The study found that more than half of the roost locations were used repeatedly throughout the year. If you are a land manager seeking to grow and hold more turkeys on your property, the study reveals just how important it is to manage your timber so that turkeys have access to trees that fit these descriptions for roost locations on your land.
How to Find a Turkey Roost
FAQ
What kind of trees do turkeys roost in?
- Pines: Longleaf and shortleaf pines are especially important to wild turkeys.
- Oaks: A common roosting tree for turkeys.
- Cottonwoods: A common roosting tree for turkeys.
- Sycamores: A common roosting tree for turkeys.
- Pecans: An important tree species for turkeys.
Do turkeys roost in the same area every night?
Turkeys may use traditional roost sites night after night but they generally use different sites and move from tree to tree.
What time do turkeys come down from roost?
Turkeys fly up into trees to roost at night to avoid most predators and enjoy protection from harsh weather conditions. Then shortly after dawn, they will fly down to resume their daily activities of feeding, dusting, breeding rituals, and for hens, spending time nesting in secluded locations.