In an effort to modernize collection of turkey sighting reports, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has switched from paper postcards to a web-based survey, making the process simpler for the volunteer citizen scientists who submit turkey sighting information to wildlife biologists.

“For the past several decades, volunteers have participated in our wild turkey brood survey by reporting turkey sightings with mail-in postcards,” said Luke Garver, IDNR’s wild turkey project manager. “Changing to an online survey system makes the reporting process easier and more convenient for everyone and allows a broader pool of volunteers to participate.”

The data collected from turkey brood surveys is extremely valuable to IDNR and is the department’s best way to estimate reproductive success each year for Illinois’ wild turkey population. IDNR encourages members of the public with interest to participate. The survey period runs June 1 through Aug. 31.

The new electronic system can be accessed on both mobile devices and home computers. Also, in addition to submitting surveys through their internet browsers, mobile users will have the option to use the Survey123 app to log turkey sightings.

For more information on turkey surveys, visit https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/changes-ahead-for-the-2023-idnr-turkey-brood-surveys/.

Anyone who would like to help with the IDNR wild turkey survey can report sightings at https://bit.ly/IDNRturkeysurvey. Instructions on downloading and using the mobile app can be found at https://bit.ly/IDNRturkeysurveyapp.

This information and more can be found in the Wild Turkey section of IDNR’s Hunt Illinois website.