Photo by John Trout Jr.

You can’t tell by the snow that’s likely still piled up outside your window. But New York’s spring turkey season -- May 1 through 31 -- is just a couple of calendar pages away. That means today, not tomorrow, is the perfect time to take inventory of your gear, start shopping for needed items, brush up on calling techniques and scout some new hunting grounds.

Knock on a few farmhouse doors. Also check out nearby state forests and wildlife management areas. Some of New York’s most promising turkey-hunting spots are owned by the taxpayers and are available to licensed hunters. The following are among the best of the bunch:

CANADAWAY CREEK WMA
Chautauqua County has been one of our state’s top producers of spring-season toms ever since the 1960s, when systematic trap-and-transfer programs triggered the wild turkey’s comeback in the Northeast. In recent years, Chautauqua’s May harvest has consistently been a leader among the 56 upstate counties where turkey hunting is allowed.

Some prime public land may be found in Chautauqua County. Your options include approximately 20,000 acres of state forests and the Canadaway Creek Wildlife Management Area, about six miles southeast of Fredonia in the town of Arkwright.

Canadaway Creek WMA’s terrain is best described as an upland plateau split by numerous gullies. Perhaps 90 percent of the property is covered by mature or second-growth hardwoods, with the balance consisting of small conifer plantations. Be sure to scout for roosting toms in or near those pines.

This WMA is easy to find. From the Interstate Route 90 exit at Fredonia, head south on Route 60 to Cassadaga. A left turn on Bard Road will take you into the heart of the management area. Lodging alternatives in the area range from bed-and-breakfasts to first-class hotels in or near Fredonia and nearby Dunkirk.

For assistance, you can phone the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau at (716) 753-4304. (Continued)

HOWLAND ISLAND
Did you ever hunt an island? Numerous residents of the Finger Lakes region can honestly say they’ve had that experience, at the 3,600-acre Howland Island unit of the Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area.

Located at a large bend in the Seneca River northwest of the Cayuga County village of Port Byron, Howland Island is dotted with ponds used by migrating ducks and geese.

But the island’s grassy fields, hedgerows and small woodlots abound with turkeys.

Surprisingly, a minor inconvenience deters many local hunters from taking on those toms.