MADISON, Wis. — Preliminary totals show Wisconsin turkey hunters registered 38,556 birds during the 2019 spring turkey hunting season, virtually unchanged from the 38,885 birds registered in the spring 2018 season.

Although average temperatures were slightly below normal for the months of April and May, weather conditions were more favorable in 2019 than in 2018, specifically in the early and late seasons.

In 2018, a spring snowstorm covered much of the state and led to a below-average harvest of 950 birds for the youth hunt. In 2019, a total of 1,953 birds were registered during the youth hunt.

“We received a fair number of reports of uncharacteristic turkey breeding behavior this year, with toms being less responsive to calling in some of the early and middle time periods,” said Mark Witecha, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources upland wildlife ecologist.

The overall statewide success rate was 18.1%, compared with 18.3% in 2018.