Was at the farm on Saturday and I saw grouse everywhere. 12 in one bunch and misc doubles and singles.
Considering these sightings were not from walking the woods, but just while driving trails and getting work done, I’m impressed.
Anyone else.noticing good numbers?
Grouse
This spring drumming seemed up significantly from last year.
Thats awesome, seen a few in my area but not that many, but the big timber conceals them until fall. I did see a woodcock tonight on a walk
Saw some at our cabin this weekend, and I have NEVER seen a grouse there!
Spring drumming is nice to hear, but not a reliable indicator. Weather during the nesting and 1st few weeks after hatching determines brood success, and THAT is what can make or break a year. If the nests get cold and wet over an extended time, the fall population won’t be up. This yr, the heavy rain and cold weather didn’t happen until the later portion of that period, so my hopes are cautiously optimistic!
Come on fall….. 
Spring drumming is nice to hear, but not a reliable indicator. Weather during the nesting and 1st few weeks after hatching determines brood success, and THAT is what can make or break a year. If the nests get cold and wet over an extended time, the fall population won’t be up. This yr, the heavy rain and cold weather didn’t happen until the later portion of that period, so my hopes are cautiously optimistic!
Come on fall…..
It seems in the areas we hunt, good drumming indicates good retention of last year’s birds. Even if brood survival isn’t ideal in an area, it can still have good hunting with good habitat and high retention of the previous years birds. We have had good seasons when the paper bird numbers are down because there’s fewer hunters in the woods.
I’ve seen quite a few just riding around so far this year compared to previous years.
Considerably more at our farm this year too!
I noticed birds early this spring picking buds in tree tops at our family property. We also had a few drummers. Flushed one brood of 4-5 a few weeks ago. Have also flushed a few grouse & woodcock singles over the past month.
We’ve had some areas logged adjacent to the property in early 2014. These areas should be in pretty good shape after the next “alleged” peak. Hopefully, it will help stabilize the local numbers. It should definitely help woodcock numbers over the next 5-10 years.
OMG I just noticed this post and nearly soiled myself. Well, not really but I was damn excited!!!!!!! As weird as it sounds I dont like to be around my grouse spots until its go time so I tend not to see many before season. That and they dont seem to like the trails as much in the summer. I’ll run into one occasionally while quading but no more than usual yet this summer. I love posts like this!
grouselets……
I’ll keep my eyes peeled this weekend while I’m out picking wild blackberries. We haven’t targeted our grouse up north for a couple of seasons so there should be plenty. The only thing I’ve noticed for this year is that all of our oaks have no acorns in them. I wonder if it was that hard freeze we got this spring…
Our oaks at home drop every other year. Most are acorn-less this year. And so are our 5 apple trees. Last year was a bumper crop of acorns. The raspberries at home are void of anything, yet the blue berries and raspberries are going like gang busters up north.
I’m aware that our oaks cycle but there’s usually trees in opposite cycle. This year, there’s no acorns anywhere on our property. That’s not normal for us. Gangbuster crop of wild raspberries and blackberries though! Dad’s garden raspberries were gangbusters this year too (metro residence).
I’ve taken 2 trips so far and I’ll be making a 3rd soon but so far, there’s no evidence of a grouse boom in my woods. Seeing turkeys, a few deer, but no grouse and without the acorns, an absence of squirrels.
I’m aware that our oaks cycle but there’s usually trees in opposite cycle. This year, there’s no acorns anywhere on our property. That’s not normal for us. Gangbuster crop of wild raspberries and blackberries though! Dad’s garden raspberries were gangbusters this year too (metro residence).
I’ve taken 2 trips so far and I’ll be making a 3rd soon but so far, there’s no evidence of a grouse boom in my woods. Seeing turkeys, a few deer, but no grouse and without the acorns, an absence of squirrels.
One thing I’ve read is the ruffed grouse cycle is associated with Aspen forest. Or definitely more pronounced in Aspen forest. Other forest types tend to see a flat population trend.
Turkeys = fewer grouse.
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