Ruffed Grouse

[ChrisNJ]

Hi everyone, after a 8 year hiatus from the outdoors I am looking forward to doing some exploring /canoeing /reptile sighting /bird watching/botany study this year in the PB's.

Anywho I have read that my favorite New England bird actually resides in the PB's but I have never kicked one up, anyone here see them with any frequency ?

 

[Bobbleton]

I haven't ever, but I'm still pretty new to the birding game.

 

[BEHR655]

Nope, never saw one.

Steve

 

[swwit]

While pheasant hunting in Colliers Mills I've come across one or two but it's not a bird I would shoot as I do not eat them. They are around.

 

[Hewey]

I have seen one grouse in the pines, it flew across the road in front of my truck on webbs mill rd. right after you pass over webbs mill branch, very shocked to see it. there was a area in jackson I used to hunt that had a very large population of them, almost every time you would walk through the area you would flush a bird or two, unfortunetly the area is now estate homes. I feel that with the pines a thick as they are there is a lot of area for them to hide compared to a new england forest habitat with more hardwoods and smaller thick areas, you almost know where you can find them in that setting.

 

[ChrisNJ]

Thanks everyone, and I definatly agree Hewey , I supose the homogenous nature of the pines would make finding a Grouse in them much harder as oposed to the cover changes in a decidious forest area.

My search continues.

 

[foofoo]

i havent seen a grouse since the mid 80-s. i would see them mostly walking the sides of the more remote or side cut off fire roads off route539 mostly in the mornings till about noon. ive been hunting that area since and havent seen one. i also use to kick them up walking the old cranbury dikes in the big woods of wharton state forest but i havent been there sice the late 80-s .also i think they go through cycles but i think since the fox and coyotes arent hunted that much they can put a beating on the birds. grouse in general are kinda chicken like. you can get fairly close to them before they take off . if you kick one up unknowingly it will give you quite a heart attack from the sounds of there wings beating. i even had one follow me around while hunting deer up in allamuchy state park off of route 80 up north. i think the bird thought i was another bird or something. they can be friendly as heck but also tasty too!

 

[RednekF350]

i havent seen a grouse since the mid 80-s. they can be friendly as heck but also tasty too!

I haven't seen one since the mid to late 80's either in the pines.
When I first moved to Pestletown in '83, I could flush 2-3 birds every time I walked a mile or so along the edge of the cedar swamp across from my house.
I actually tried to train my first springer on them with a little success. Very little actually but he sure looked good trying..
The Jersey Central railbed through Parkdale held a few birds too.
I have heard the decline is related to habitat losss and changes in habitat but I am convinced there is more to it.
The habitat has been unchanged in most of the core sections of the pines and the grouse have totally disappeared.
I hunt them in NE Pa. every fall and their numbers are pretty stable up there for some reason. two of us usually bag 3 or 4 in two weekends of hunting.
Tasty is an understatement.
They are one of the best critters out there for the table.
Scott

 

[foofoo]

also the control burns that the state does every year in feb-march might be a player. i dont remeber them burning off that much underbrush in the 80-s. i think it might change the food sources.the burns are certainly helpful to the deer. the state got cheap this past year and didnt plant anything i could find.

 

[uuglypher]

Hi everyone, after a 8 year hiatus from the outdoors I am looking forward to doing some exploring /canoeing /reptile sighting /bird watching/botany study this year in the PB's.

Anywho I have read that my favorite New England bird actually resides in the PB's but I have never kicked one up, anyone here see them with any frequency ?

I never saw one, but Joe Palmer (on whose cranbogs along the Wading I worked in the early 60's) told me he had seen a few in the pines, and had heard a few drumming, but never in the numbers he was used to seeing and hearing in Pennsylvania. He was a savvy outdoorsman and not given to fancy or exaggeration.

Dave

 

[dragoncjo]

On the subject of ruffed grouse yesterday I was out hiking at wharton off of caranza road. While hiking on a dirt trail back there I saw tracks that looked like turkey tracks, however they were about the size of a quarter, with a very short stride. Not sure what kind of bird they were, ruffed grouse maybe??

 

[RednekF350]

Check this out.
More than you need to know.
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/tracking/birds/ruffedgrouse/
Scott

 

[uuglypher]

Check this out.
More than you need to know.
http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/tracking/birds/ruffedgrouse/
Scott

Terrific website, Scott !

The shots of the grouse scat reminded me that years ago when I was doing field research in West River and sage grouse were still fairly plentiful, my friends back home in Iowa always appreciated a gift of some dried sage grouse turds to use as incense. The birds feed on growing buds and twigs of sage and the volatile oils thereof pass thru into the feces. My buddies' wives were always impressed that their husbands had taken an interest in the use of "Lakota incense", but were usually taken aback when they learned that the source of of the lovely, "sage aroma" was smoldering bird shit.

I wonder if ruffed grouse eat anything that would have the same or a similar effect? Find some ruffed grouse turds. Dry 'em out. Light 'em up. If it simply smells disgustingly like smoldering shit, remember, I made no promises about the excreta of this particular species of grouse...

Thanks for the link to this site!

Dave

 

[bobpbx]

This thread got me interested in the Heath Hen, which used to be on the pine plains. There is something extremely sad about a species dying out. This is from a bit of instructional material.

i) The heath hen was a subspecies of the greater prairie-chicken (a bird that can still be found today – although it is declining too – in parts of the Midwest).

ii) When Europeans arrived in North America in the 1600s the heath hen was widely distributed and common in open shrubby habitats (pine barrens, scrub-oak plains) from Maine to Virginia.

iii) Populations began to decline, probably because it was widely hunted for food and because its habitat declined as land was converted to agriculture.

iv) By the 1870s it was only found on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. By 1907, there were only 50 left and a 1600 acre reserve was set aside for them. This protection worked well and the population increased to 2000 birds in the next 8 years.

v) But, in 1916 a big fire destroyed much of the remaining habitat. This was followed by harsh weather and an influx of goshawks (which preyed on heath hens) in the following winter. To top it all off a new poultry disease was introduced to the island with domesticated turkeys. This combination of events decimated the heath hen population and by 1932 they were extinct.

Source: http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/introconsbio/EEB208_07_threats.htm

 

[dragoncjo]

Thanks for the site scott, can't tell how big they were from that picture. Guessing that is a half dollar coin in the picture. The ones I saw were probably about the size of a quarter same shape though.

I agree there is something very disturbing about a species dying out. My main interest is in bog turtles and in the last 6 years based on what I have read it seems that it has been eradicated from every county in south jersey except salem. Six years ago it existed in burlington, gloucester and there were historical records in cape may. Ashame but I guess I should get use to hearing this sort of thing in new jersey the home of a billion shopping centers.

 

[RednekF350]

I wonder if ruffed grouse eat anything that would have the same or a similar effect? Find some ruffed grouse turds. Dry 'em out. Light 'em up.
Dave

In Pa. they seem to eat mostly seeds from shrub and grass growth.
They also seem to hang around groves of hemlock, where they typically roost.
I suppose the best one could hope for would be that they eat a few hemlock cones and their turds would smell like hemlock when lit.
I think I'll pass on this experiment!
Scott

 

[ChrisNJ]

Great link RednekF350, thanks.

I also just read of the Heath Hen for the first time, I wonder why steps havent been taken to reintroduce it to the pines ?

 

[swwit]

I guess you have to aquire a taste for them as they taste like worms to me.

 

[uuglypher]

I guess you have to aquire a taste for them as they taste like worms to me.

I've eaten a few, and must admit I'm not partial to the taste, but... as for their tasting "...like worms...", I'll have to leave that to those who have made the definitive gustatory comparison.

Dave