"It's good and bad news for turkeys in Alabama," Eakes admitted. "Yes, our numbers overall are holding steady or even increasing in some areas. But we're losing an awful lot of habitat to development too. I'm 48 years old, and places near Huntsville where I used to small game hunt are housing developments and strip malls now."

TOP TURKEY AREAS
As more and more land becomes fragmented by development and lease prices continue to grow, public land hunting just may be the wave of the future for the average turkey hunter in the state.

The wildlife management areas get some pressure, but you can still have a quality hunt on public ground, Eakes said.

A quality hunt is setting up on a gobbling tom, whether or not you pull the trigger.

There are an estimated 67,000 turkey hunters in Alabama. The annual turkey harvest in the Cotton State is usually between 60,000 and 62,000 birds.

According to Eakes, there are some good WMAs for turkeys in every corner of the state. Here's a better look by region at what you can expect this season, and which public lands look most promising.

North
Historically, the northern third of Alabama has had fewer turkeys than the central and southern parts of the state. But the birds have expanded in this part of the state, and many of the top WMAs for turkey hunting statewide are actually in this region now.

"Northeast Alabama is just full of turkeys," said Keith McCutcheon, the state biologist in charge of Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, Marshall, Randolph, St. Clair and Talladega counties. "I don't think we've ever had it better for turkeys."

There are still places in Etowah and Marshall counties that don't have solid populations of birds, but turkeys have expanded into just about every available habitat elsewhere in the district.

There are even turkeys now on the waterfowl management areas in Jackson County.

"I don't know when we'll open the season on those units, but we probably will eventually," McCutcheon acknowledged.

The best part of the district, in McCutcheon's view, is right around Jacksonville. Calhoun, Clay and Talladega counties are his top private ground picks for gobblers.

The best WMA is without a doubt Choccolocco, a perennial producer of turkeys. It gets some hunting pressure, but it's a big area and a good bet for anyone looking for a place to go.