Maine Event: Birds in the Blueberry Patch

I never thought I’d tire of hearing a turkey gobble, but this bird was pushing it. Ever since he’d flown down from the roost, he’d responded to every call I’d made. Yelping, cutting, purring—it didn’t matter. He had an answer for everything. And when I’d shut up, he’d answer that too—gobbling his fool head off for the pure joy of it.

After an hour I crawled to the stone wall and peered over. He was in the exact spot where he’d landed after flying down: 150 yards out in the blueberry field with no way to approach him.

I decided to call it a stalemate and leave, but after making an unproductive loop, I found myself sneaking back to the field to check in. This time I saw that my little friend had been joined by a hen.

With nothing to lose, I set up in a different spot, called and was answered immediately—by the hen. I must have struck a nerve, too, because she came marching right over to investigate. She hopped the stone wall about 20 yards away, and when the tom followed, I ended his gobbling ways.

That hunt took place a couple of years ago in Maine, and though chasing turkeys in blueberry fields is not unique to the state, it’s a quintessential Maine experience—like tracking deer in the mountains and decoying eiders on the coast. It’s a hunt that allows sportsmen to connect with the location as well as the game.

FORTUITOUS FIELDS

When many people think of Maine, they think of lobster and the timber harvested in northern forests. What they may not realize is that Maine also produces 99 percent of the nation’s lowbush blueberries (as opposed the highbush variety grown in many other places). The berries are considered “wild” and are grown on about 500 farms, mostly in the south-central and southeastern parts of the state.

The way turkeys use blueberry fields doesn’t differ much from how they use fields in general, as places to forage for leaves, insects and other food sources (studies have shown that they eat very few blueberries). But it’s the way that gobblers in particular use blueberry fields—as strutting grounds during the spring—that most interests hunters. With the most common lowbush plants varying in height from only 4 to 15 inches, the fields are great places for toms to see and be seen throughout the season.

Terry Bombeke has been hunting turkeys in coastal Maine since moving to the state almost 30 years ago, and he often focuses on blueberry fields.

“Turkeys love fields,” says Bombeke, “and many of the fields in our area just happen to be blueberry fields. So I hunt those fields like I would any green or agricultural field—trying to roost birds near them at night and starting near them in the morning.

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“It’s the fields themselves that make the hunting different,” he continues. “Many are hilly, and often there are boulders in them and rock walls. This gives me options in terms of cover and being able to work the terrain to stay hidden while making moves on a bird or relocating.

And with blueberry plants never getting more than knee-high, I can count on turkeys being there all spring.”

Blueberry fields can exist in hilly terrain because of the way they are managed. In late July and August, the fruit is gathered with hand rakes and mechanical harvesters, after which the plants are mowed or burned. With large machinery unnecessary on small farms, growers don’t require the manicured landscapes needed for many agricultural crops. They can operate on steep inclines and around obstacles like exposed shelf rock and rock piles. Bombeke recalls a hunt in which he roosted a bird on the edge of a field and set up right in the field the next morning.

“I was able to position myself directly in front of the bird by sitting against a rock ledge, and when he flew down, he landed and came in on a line” he says. “Try doing that in a flat ag field with no blind. There’s just nowhere to hide.”

Another time, he and his son, Zephyr, were thankful for a random boulder.

“We were cutting across a blueberry field, using a low spot to keep hidden, when a bird gobbled over the next rise,” says Bombeke. “A boulder was the only cover, so we plunked down a decoy, tucked in against the rock and started calling. Two gobblers came walking over the hill, and Zephyr dropped one at 25 yards. If we’d been in an open green field, we’d have been screwed.”

Bombeke’s wife, Carmen, is a Maine native and registered guide, and she has taken plenty of birds as well. A couple of years ago, she and a friend were walking through a blueberry field when she stopped and called. A bird just out of sight answered.

“There was a stone wall right there,” she says, “so I stuck the decoy out front and had my friend sit against the wall while I sat on the back side. I’d only made a couple of yelps when the bird came charging over the hill.

“My friend, who’d never shot a turkey, was so amazed that she let him come all the way in and actually attack the decoy. She ended up shooting him at 15 yards.”

HUNTING ON THE MOON

Not all fields are hilly, of course, and in those that are flat and wide open, turkeys tend to be more cautious. The greater visibility allows them to search more intensely for the source of calling, and they often take their time approaching. Having decoys is a huge asset in this situation, as they not only add an extra element of realism, but they also provide a distraction, allowing hunters to get away with extra gun movement at the moment of truth.

Another benefit of decoys is that they can help gauge distance. In fields with few rocks or other reference points, it can be difficult to judge range. By placing decoys at known yardages, hunters know when birds are close enough to shoot.

Hunters without decoys often set up 15 to 20 yards inside woodlines. The thought is to give a gobbler the impression that a hen is calling just out of sight and persuade him to leave the security of the field to investigate. When he saunters over to the edge and peers in, he’s already in range.

If hunting as a team, one hunter can set up at the edge of the field while the other calls from 20 yards into the woods. A cautious tom may plan on staying out of the cover, but if he gets anywhere near it, he’s toast.

Another nice thing about blueberry fields is that often there are wooded fingers extending into them. These peninsulas, if you will, provide “structure” that turkeys move in and around, and they can offer cover for hunters trying to approach a bird in one of a field’s recesses.

One morning, Terry and Carmen heard a gobble across a field on the other side of a finger. There was thick fog that day, so they cut through the field instead of circling it. According to Terry, “We were halfway across when we realized the bird had already worked his way to the tip of the finger and would soon see us. Luckily, the field had a lot of bumps—almost like moguls—so we planted a decoy and hunkered down in two depressions. It worked, and a hen we hadn’t known was there walked past Carmen at 10 yards. Unfortunately, when the gobbler followed, Carmen’s gun jammed and she never got a shot.

“Still, it was one of my most memorable hunts. With the fog and the barren field, it felt like hunting on the moon.”

And that gets back to one of the best things about hunting in blueberry fields: enjoying unique and memorable experiences. Turkeys act like turkeys wherever they are, so it’s often the “places” that get seared into our memory.

Hunters used to taking birds in green fields or crops will remember hunting in blueberry fields forever.

BERRY GOOD HUNTING

• Details for planning a Maine blueberry field hunt.

In Maine, blueberries are grown on about 480 farms comprising 44,000 acres, mostly from halfway up the coast to the New Brunswick border. Unlike many other states, Maine operates under an “implied permission” structure, meaning that if land isn’t posted, it can be legally accessed. Of course, it’s always best to seek landowner permission, if possible.

Sadly, posted signs have been popping up more frequently in Maine, including in blueberry fields. That’s why those hunting the fields should tread lightly to avoid trampling plants in hopes of ensuring continued access. If a field is posted, there may be accessible woods around it into which birds can be called.

Maine’s spring turkey season is one of the latest in the country, basically running for the month of May and some years into June. (This year it runs from April 29 to June 1.) Hunting hours are from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. Depending on the wildlife management district, hunters can take up to two bearded birds, and they must have a $20 turkey permit in addition to a big- or small-game hunting license.

For more information, contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. To contact registered Maine guide Carmen Bombeke, email huntfish207@outlook.com or visit the Maine Professional Guides Association website.

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• This article was featured in the April 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.