ALBANY — New York’s population of wild turkeys — an indigenous fowl once hailed by Benjamin Franklin as a “bird of courage” — has rebounded after declining sharply because of frigid winters, predators and other challenges, experts say.

Turkeys tend to flourish in upstate regions where there is a mix of habitat — a blend of fields and wooded areas.

But their chances of survival are enhanced when the hens find nesting spots that are unbeknownst to egg-hungry raccoons, skunks and possums, along with traditional predators such as coyotes and bobcats, said Mike Schiavone, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

“There is a more abundant and diverse predator community than there was 25 years ago,” Schiavone cautioned. “The predator populations are doing well, which is something turkeys have to cope with.”

Despite those predators, turkeys are in abundance in New York’s North Country, said veteran hunter John Polewchak of Chazy, a former leader of the Lake Champlain Turkey Talkers, a regional chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

“We have dairy farms and plenty of old cornfields for them to strut in,” said Polewchak. “Everybody I talk to who hunts turkeys has no problem finding turkeys.”

New York’s turkey population had been virtually wiped out by 1850 as the result of forest after forest being cut down by the logging industry and to clear land for farms.

In the early 1950s, the state tried to reintroduce turkeys by releasing birds from a game farm operation in Sherburne. But those fowl lacked the survival skills to make it on their own. The current population is descended from turkeys trapped and transferred from Pennsylvania and southwestern New York and placed into hospitable surroundings in various pockets of the state.

While New York’s turkey population has inched higher over the past few years — it had ebbed significantly in the 1990s — fewer were taken by hunters in 2016, according to DEC statistics.

The total statewide turkey harvest last year was pegged at 18,422 birds. That’s a bit more than half the 35,625 taken by hunters in 2007.

The top five counties for harvest last year were: Delaware, Otsego, Washington, St. Lawrence and Steuben.

To help DEC scientists get a better handle on the state’s turkey population trend, agency officials are asking New Yorkers to take notes during August whenever they encounter flocks. Information sought by the DEC includes the approximate age and gender of the birds that are observed. A turkey survey sighting form is available from the agency’s website, and can also be obtained from regional DEC offices.

DEC officials say the data is used to gauge the reproductive success of hens and predict the fall harvest total.

The turkey population has thinned in parts of Western New York impacted by lake-effect snowfall, said Randy Opferbeck, secretary of the state board of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

“The number of turkeys we used to have are just not there,” said Opferbeck, noting the DEC has been unable to do much to create suitable habitat for turkeys and other wildlife because of budgetary constraints.

“It’s a money thing,” he said, adding that the Wild Turkey Federation and the Grouse Society would be eager to chip in for such projects.

DEC statistics show that the agency sold 292,499 turkey permits in the past year, down from 327,103 permits sold in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

The recent spate of rain storms is expected to be yet another challenge for New York’s wild turkeys, said Tom Salo of the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society.

“I expect there won’t be as many birds produced successfully this year because of the weather,” said Salo, who gave credit to the DEC for its efforts to manage the population.

He noted the agency bars the hunting of turkey hens during the spring.

Opferbeck lamented the drop in the sale of turkey hunting permits, suggesting that many young people have left upstate New York because of greater job opportunities elsewhere and because some spend more time with their laptops and smart phones than they do with hiking boots.

“Our society is becoming more urbanized,” even for those who grew up in the country, he said.

Joe Mahoney covers the New York Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach him at jmahoney@cnhi.com