Even if the weather is not always perfect, spring gobbler season is still a glorious time to be outdoors. Another winter has passed. Bright, fresh greens are beginning to appear. Best of all, turkeys are gobbling on the ridges. Hunting time is here again!

All we need are places to hunt. In years past, it was plain to any serious turkey hunter that the only good places to hunt spring gobblers were in the southern counties, most notably the Southern Tier.

A look at the 2004 spring gobbler take shows that turkeys have been expanding their range in New York. Regions that were recently fringe areas now provide good hunting. In fact, the state’s top 10 turkey counties are scattered all over the state. For example, the top county was Chautauqua County in the extreme southwestern part of the state, where turkey hunting has been good for many years, but the second best was Dutchess County in the southeastern region not far from New York City. The third best was Jefferson County, bordering Canada.

Based on advice from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation experts, here are 10 suggestions for places you might find your gobbler this spring.

NORTHERN ZONE

Northern New York counties have not had a reputation for good turkey populations, but this is changing.

“We see birds in places where 20 years ago you would have said you’d never see turkeys,” said biologist Ken Kogut.

In Region 5, the eastern side of the Adirondacks, turkey hunting still has been light in northern counties.

“In Region 5, the only good turkey hunting areas are in the south,” Kogut said. “The very best is in Washington County, which is hunted very heavily.”

Washington County ranked 13th last year with a take of 685 gobblers.

“I would say Batten Kill State Forest would be a great place to hunt. It’s a very productive area with a long history of turkey hunting.”

Batten Kill State Forest is relatively new. Situated in southeastern Washington County in the foothills of the Green Mountains, it covers 983 acres. The terrain is steep, with elevations ranging from about 500 feet along the Batten Kill to about 1,500 feet on the peaks. Habitat is primarily forest, including mature oaks and beech, but there is farmland in the valley where turkeys can find food during winter.

While nesting conditions have been poor for the past three years in most of the state, Kogut noted that a second nesting last year appeared to be quite successful in this area.

Batten Kill State Forest is northeast of Cambridge along Route 313, about an hour from the Albany area by way of Route 7 east and then Route 22 north.

Because it’s so close to Albany, this area gets a lot of hunting pressure, but there are pockets of cover where adventurous hunters can get away from it all.

“I think what makes these tracts remote,” Kogut said, “is that there are a lot of elevation changes. A lot of guys aren’t up to climbing 1,500-foot ridges, but the ones who do will have more opportunities.”

For information about local services, contact the Washington County Information and Tourism office, County Municipal Center, 383 Broadway, Fort Edward, NY 12828; call (888) 203-8622; or visit the agency’s Web site at tourisminfo@ washingtoncounty.org.

Similar in latitude, Peck Hill State Forest in Fulton County is also a short drive from the Albany area by way of Interstate Route 90 west to Exit 28 at Fultonville, and then north on Route 30A to Route 29A at Gloversville. Follow Route 29A north to the state forest land. A parking area on the north side of Wilie Road, left off Route 29A between Gloversville and Caroga Lake, has just been expanded to accommodate more vehicles.

“The terrain here is perfect for hunters who like to set up and call,” suggested Cliff Wray, a senior forester at the Northville office. “There’s a lot of up-and-down country. You can get up on the hillsides and work the turkeys coming up at you.”

Peck Hill State Forest covers an area of about 2,900 acres. Most of it is forest protected for municipal water supplies. A system of unmarked trails will help you navigate through this area. Rolling hill terrain is almost entirely forested. The only openings are log landings. It has a lot of red oak and beech mixed with other hardwoods, hemlock and white pine. Oaks produced a good crop of acorns last fall. There were also some scattered beechnuts. Very little agriculture is in the surrounding area.