Last week we looked at a season summary of Maine’s three big-game species: moose, bear and deer. This week we’ll downsize a little with a look at how the 2024 hunting season went for those pursuing other popular game species.

Though considered a big-game species, at least by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), the wild turkey falls somewhere between the iconic big three and other species lumped under the title: “small game.” However you label them, they are a popular pursuit for Maine hunters.

While harvest totals for the 2024 spring season were not available, they’ve ranged between roughly 6,000 and 7,000 over the last five years and there’s no reason to expect last year was any different. The population, and therefore the harvest, tend to fluctuate more annually, largely as a result of weather. And there’s a bit of a lag effect.

A cold, wet spring means poorer production and fewer birds in subsequent years. Any bearded bird is legal, but most serious turkey hunters pass up yearling males or jakes in favor of older toms. Though 2023 saw more than its share of rain, production was still decent, meaning a fairly good crop of jakes. Older age classes fared better in their first year so there were plenty of longbeards available as well.

The spring of 2024 was even better, as was production. That translated into a robust fall harvest of 2,390 birds. It also bodes well for the 2025 spring season. The fall bag limit of five birds of either sex had some folks concerned about over-harvest, but that seems unfounded as the turkey population continues to grow in size and range.

Weather has a more dramatic and immediate effect on upland birds like grouse. Poor spring conditions mean fewer birds around in the fall and that was certainly the case in 2023. Fortunately, populations recover quickly and better spring conditions in 2024 translated to a bumper crop of birds, particularly in northern areas that experience less hunting pressure.

The opposite is somewhat true for waterfowl. Rainfall is a blessing on their northern breeding grounds and nesting conditions over the last couple years have been moderate to good. Cold temperatures can factor in but because the birds are migratory and nest over a broad geographic range, it’s often localized and has less impact on the overall populations. Most of the news is good, and liberal seasons and bag limits persist, though production of sea ducks, particularly eiders, continues to be of concern, and wildlife managers have responded with tighter limits.

Nationwide, gray squirrels used to be a very popular game species, particularly as an introduction for young hunters. I don’t know anyone who still pursues them, but for those who do, their numbers wax and wane with mast availability but have grown with consecutive years of bumper acorn crops. Snowshoe hare are more reliant on habitat. Fortunately, timber harvest provides plenty of the right stuff. They’re also influenced by the abundance of predators like coyotes and bobcats, and there’s no shortage of those, either. In fact, seasons for both are open right now.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at: bob@bobhumphrey.com