Outdoor Observations: Win great prizes in our 2025 Michigan Outdoor News Best Turkey Photo Contest

On the heels of success with the Best Buck Photo Contest, Michigan Outdoor News is pleased to announce that we will be sponsoring our inaugural 2025 Best Turkey Photo Contest for all of you turkey hunters out there.

With the overwhelming support of our co-sponsor, the Michigan Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation – who rounded up all the fantastic prizes – we’re encouraging Michigan’s spring turkey hunters to take a minute or two after tagging your gobbler to set up a nice photo of you and your tom.

A great photo will help preserve the memories from your exciting hunt, and it’ll allow you to share your success with MON readers. You’ll also have a shot at winning one of the fabulous prizes provided by our supporters.

Like our Best Buck Contest, the Michigan Outdoor News Best Turkey Photo Contest is about who takes the best picture, not who shoots the biggest bird or the bird with the longest beard.

This is strictly about the quality of the photo so give it a little thought before snapping the pic. Is the sun at your back creating a dark shadow on your face? If so use a fill flash or turn so the sun is not at your back. Is there a house or a truck parked in the background? Move to another area with a more natural background.

Be sure to get a tight, closeup photo of the successful hunter and the bird. Wear your hunting clothes in the picture – sans facemask – and display the weapon you used in a safe manner. Open the chamber on your shotgun and be sure it is unloaded and pointed in a safe direction. Uncock your crossbow.

The deadline for entry is June 13. We will be awarding prizes to several weekly winners, as well as a Grand Prize winner and several others.

See the attached graphic for prizes, and visit here for more details and to submit your photo.

MORE COVERAGE FROM MICHIGAN OUTDOOR NEWS:

Michigan DNR will get $38 million in federal excise taxes

New Michigan bills address trespass issues

Tracks suggest there may have been three cougar kittens born in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

WITH THE DAWNING OF SPRING COMES A REMINDER from the DNR that the state’s 12,000 black bears are leaving their dens. They’re hungry and looking for an easy meal.

Game managers are urging residents to remove bird feeders and pet food from outdoors, use bear-resistant garbage cans, and keep grills and patio furniture clean.

There are more than 10,000 black bears in the Upper Peninsula and around 2,000 in the northern Lower, and the population is slowly expanding south. Access to calorie-rich foods like bird seed and dog food can turn bears into repeat visitors and lead to dangerous situations for people, livestock, and pets.

“Removing food sources now before they attract bears and other wildlife can save you time, money, and stress, and keep the animals safely foraging at a distance for the rest of the year,” said Jared Duquette, a DNR wildlife biologist who specializes in human-wildlife interactions. “While black bears are generally fearful of humans, we should never engage with or feed the bears. It is critical that bears retain their natural fear of humans.”

An adult black bear can lose up to 30% of its body weight over the winter so their appetite really picks up when they leave the wintering dens.

To learn more about preventing conflicts with bears visit Michigan.gov/Wildlife or contact the DNR at (517) 284-9453.