Ruffed Grouse
- Thread starter HawkinNative
- Start date
Last one I saw locally was on my folks place in Pine Lake Park many, many moons ago. Other than that I have seen a few up in Sussex County, High Point State Park. Birders regularly report them from up there as well, surprised they didn't get on any count.
According to the hunters survey, they are still around, but I really wonder about those numbers that are reported.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/game_birdharv_summary.pdf
According to the hunters survey, they are still around, but I really wonder about those numbers that are reported.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/game_birdharv_summary.pdf
I lived in Passaic County up to 1982 and was an avid grouse hunter. On my best days I flushed as many as a dozen and on my worst perhaps two or three (I hate to say how few I actually brought home. Only another grouse hunter would understand!) When I’ve hunted those very same woods in recent years I’ve hunted hard all day without seeing a single bird. I’ve heard many reasons given by biologists, hunters and outdoor writers. They range from natural cyclic populations, maturing forests, over predation by new species such as coyotes and competition from increasing wild turkey populations. I have no idea if any or all of these are responsible for their disappearance but it’s really a shame. Ringnecks and quail which are easily raised in captivity and let loose a few days before small game season provide scarcely more sport than released domestic chickens would. Several generations of New Jersey hunters have grown up believing that what is known as “put and take” hunting (not to mention trout fishing) is a genuine hunting experience. It‘s too bad that they are less likely to get the thrill from hunting a bird like the grouse, that resists captivity and is truly a wild game bird.
These folks are probably the best source of info. They are actively pursuing habitat restoration and have 2 chapters, one is for the pines, the other is up north. Given the decline, you have to wonder why F&W continues with a hunting season.
http://www.njgrouse.com/notes.html
http://www.njgrouse.com/notes.html
I was thinking the same thing. The last few years we have seen a Peregrine Falcon in our neighborhood. We have always had bird feeders (seed and suet) in our back yard, and the Falcon pretty much started hunting over our yard. Most of the larger birds we used to get (Blue Jays, Grackles, etc...) are gone. I guess the smaller songbirds are too hard for the Falcon to catch, so we still see a lot of them. I haven't seen a grouse in our woods in a long time, so maybe the hawk population affected the grouse numbers too.
Greg
Raptor numbers are mostly down. Compare the numbers over the years at the various Hawk watch sites in the state, especially from the '90s.
http://hawkcount.org/month_summary.php?rsite=328&rmonth=11&ryear=2008&sec=key
It is very uncommon and would make little evolutionary sense for a native (with the emphasis on native!) predator species to have such a negative effect on its prey. In fact, one of the basic principles of wildlife ecology is that prey populations are more likely to affect predator populations than the other way around. That is why the bounty system for controlling predators was done away with long ago.
Geez I could not agree with you more. I was a diehard pheasant and quail hunter in my youth at the WMA's and then I went to college in Maine for 4 years and hunted Grouse while I was there, I have not gone after a quail or pheasant since I got back and I look forward to retiring in 12 years and moving to New England just to chase the Thunder Chickens again. Hell as soon as my son is old enough to join me we will be going on vacation up there a few weeks in October each year.