Iowa’s spring turkey season wrapped up the second weekend of May, with Iowa hunters reporting more than 14,800 birds harvested through the mandatory registration system. This is an increase of nearly 3,000 birds versus the 2022 harvest. Washington County reported 70. 

The season began on April 7 with the youth season and officially ended on May 14. Hunters purchased nearly 54,500 spring turkey tags, an increase of 2,000 licenses from last year.

While the hunting season is done for 2023, Iowans are asked to help the Department of Natural Resources with its annual turkey production estimates by reporting all the turkeys seen during the months of July and August. This will help predict the overall production of wild turkeys that will be available for the 2024 season. Iowans who see turkeys are asked to provide the date and county in which it was seen, if it was an adult male or female, and whether young turkeys were present.

The DNR will have a link to the survey on its website before it begins on July 1. For a list of the total turkey harvest by county, click here.