Finding and scouting turkey roosts is one of the most important skills for any turkey hunter to master Knowing where the birds are sleeping at night allows you to set up in the right spots come morning In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about locating wild turkey roosts.
Why Do Turkeys Roost in Trees?
Turkeys are vulnerable when sleeping so they perch up high to avoid predators. Roosting in trees also protects them from poor weather. Once turkeys find a suitable roost tree, they will often return to the same one night after night. This predictable behavior is key for hunters looking to pattern the birds.
Where to Look for Turkey Roost Trees
Though turkey roosts can be found in various habitat types, there are certain features to focus your search efforts on:
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Near water – Turkeys often roost near sources of water like rivers, creeks, ponds and lakes.
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Mature timber – Large trees with an open canopy provide good cover and easy access for takeoff and landing.
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Evergreens – Conifers offer shelter from wind and concealment when deciduous trees are bare.
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Protected areas – Features like hollers, ridges and dense vegetation can shield roosts from weather and predators.
How to Pinpoint Actual Roost Trees
Once you’ve identified potential roosting habitat, look for these signs of active turkey use:
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Droppings and feathers – Scan the ground below mature trees for evidence of turkey nighttime activity.
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Observe flight patterns – Note the locations of trees where you see turkeys flying up to roost in the evening.
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Hear vocalizations – Gobbles and yelps at fly-up time can confirm roost spots.
Using Calls to Locate Roosted Birds
Calling is a popular and effective roost locating technique:
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Owl and crow calls – Loud calls often trigger excited “shock gobbles” from roosted toms.
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Turkey box calls – The high volume carries over long distances to elicit responses.
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Morning and evening – Focus efforts when birds are most likely to be in trees.
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Silent listening – Stay quiet after calling to hear gobbles pinpoint the roost.
Being Safe and Ethical Around Roost Trees
To avoid pressuring birds and impacting future hunts:
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Don’t crow call after fly-down or late at night.
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Never set up too close to the roost itself.
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Minimize disturbance by approaching cautiously.
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Consider alternate setup spots and calling routes.
Why Roost Knowledge Matters
Locating roosts is so valuable because it allows you to:
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Establish morning ambush sites near expected fly-down zones.
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Identify travel corridors between roosting and feeding areas.
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Learn the general ranges of local flocks.
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Save time scouting by focusing efforts on active spots.
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Patterning bird movements, behavior and habitat preferences.
Roosting turkeys is a very important step in building the foundation for all turkey hunting methods
One of the first steps in becoming a successful turkey hunter is understanding the ins and outs of roosting turkeys. “Roosting” a turkey means finding where it sleeps and using this information to plan a successful hunt. Every night as the sun sets turkeys will go to roost. Those locations can reveal patterns and provide indications about where we should be hunting no matter what our method or tactics.
How to locate a turkey roost
Turkey roosts can be identified in a number of ways. The most common and easiest is calling turkeys the night before or very early on the morning of the hunt. The other method is to watch turkeys from a distance in late afternoon to see where they go.
There are a number of ways to locate a turkey roost with calls and this method is primarily associated with what’s called a “shock gobble.” The shock gobble is a vocal response to the natural anxiety of toms that spurs them to gobble at the sound of predators and other loud noises.
The most common calls used for this are owl calls, crow calls, and coyote calls. Other more sneaky and adapted methods include slamming a car door and beeping a horn (yes, I grew up in the suburbs of Boston after all).
The best places to call are often areas that overlook vast areas of land so that sound can travel, or in open areas where roosting makes a lot of sense to the bird.
The goal is to be loud and get that noise to travel. Immediately after calling we rely on silence to hear a response. The reaction is almost immediate and sometimes we have to relocate multiple times to get responses. Most people will drive and call from roads to cover large areas but make sure your engine is off to hear any response.
Once a roost is located, which means it’s late enough for them to be in a tree, they will be in that tree until sunrise. We will take a look at what a morning looks like at a turkey roost a little later.
It’s important to note that some people want to use an actual turkey call to locate turkey roosts. There is a lot of debate that surrounds this method as some believe offering up a turkey call creates call-shy birds. The theory is based on birds hearing a call early morning during preseason and following up said call with no reward. That basis may make the debate less relevant during the open season when calling to a bird on roost in the early morning (hence locating it) will result in them coming to your call. Which after all is a major point to hunting turkeys.
The best calls for this method are turkey box calls as they are louder and travel a greater distance at a higher pitch. Although some people rely on using a box call to bring a turkey within shooting range, many people view the box call as a method to locate turkeys at distances while out hunting. Once located they switch to mouth calls and pot calls to bring the bird into shooting range. Another call that travels great distance? Beeping your car horn. Trust me on that one.
Depending on where one lives it may be possible to spot turkeys at great distances using the lay of the land. Higher elevations that overlook vast areas allow a turkey hunter to use spotting scopes and binoculars to watch turkeys from a safe distance and see where they go to roost. This method is very straightforward but does eliminate areas you cannot get a visual on.
Many hunters often combine their calling method with spotting turkeys. The biggest advice being saving the calling part for once we are confident birds are in a tree, as we do not want to start calling a bird to us (if you are using a turkey call) thus effectively deterring them from their natural roost.
How To Find Turkey Roost Locations
FAQ
How do you know where turkeys roost?
Do turkeys roost in the same tree every night?
What time do turkeys come down from roost?
What trees do turkeys roost in?