More food, more critters…
Bumper crop of acorns in parkway may cause wild turkey population to soar
By Ramon Coronado - rcoronado@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Thursday, November 1, 2007
A bumper crop of acorns is leaving those who work along the American River Parkway and others wondering if wild turkeys also will have a bumper crop of hatchlings this spring.
"If you have a lot of acorns, you are likely to have a good crop of wild turkeys," said Jack Hiehle, a volunteer at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Ancil Hoffman Park who has worked with wildlife along the American River for the past 36 years.
Hiehle, who retired from the state Fish and Game Department in 1984, said this year's acorn crop is unusually bountiful.
"I don't know if anyone has figured it out, but there are certain weather conditions that make for good years and bad years for acorns," Hiehle said.
One person who has figured it out is Bethallyn Black, an urban horticulturist with the University of California, Davis, Cooperative Extension program.
According to Black, who studies horticulture in urban and suburban settings, 40 to 50 years of UC research shows a bumper crop of acorns is produced by a unique combination of factors.
"It appears one factor is that we had no rain in April," Black said of an increased pollination that occurs when there's little rain to wash off pollen.
Another factor is the freeze in January, Black said.
A large number of insects also are dependent on acorns for food, she said.
"The freeze knocked back the insect population so that more acorns could survive and grow," Black said.
The horticulturist said the bountiful crop of acorns is not limited to the Sacramento area. Black said she has been getting calls from throughout Northern California.
Black agrees with Hiehle that increased acorns means more wild turkeys in the spring.
