Grouse numbers?

Bland

Bland

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Grouse numbers seem down in this part of BC this year. The three broods I have seen show good survival but just not seeing as many as one should right now. What is it like elsewhere this season?
 
Can't seem to tie my shoelaces without seeing a grouse or a family group of them these days. See some by the roads on almost every trip I take.


Got some really nice pictures of several of them. I'll get some posted eventually. :)

Looks like a decent year for them around here this year.

Cheers
Trev
 
re grouse

The numbers seem to be way down in the okanogan. on our farm in Winfield the first hatch of quail was a total write off,they did have a second hatch but boy are they small yet. The pheasant hatch was also very poor, The few birds I am seeing are mostly adults from previous years. I am not sure if grouse and pheasants have a second hatch if the first is killed by wet weather?
 
Duckshoot said:
The numbers seem to be way down in the okanogan. on our farm in Winfield the first hatch of quail was a total write off,they did have a second hatch but boy are they small yet. The pheasant hatch was also very poor, The few birds I am seeing are mostly adults from previous years. I am not sure if grouse and pheasants have a second hatch if the first is killed by wet weather?
Click to expand...

Pheasants will have the second hatch.
 
I haven't really seen any either, but then again I haven't gone down my famous chicken roads yet. I'm not worried. I've done very well on the chicken count in years past, and don't expect this year to be any different.
 
Two years ago, something decimated their population in Central Ontario. Not sure what. Perhaps a very cold and wet Spring. They are still not back. Very few drumming this Spring and very few sightings this Summer.:(
 
Grouse, like quite a few of our wild creatures, run in cycles. It's common to have a build up to a high population of them, then a crash to very low numbers.
Biologists will always have an answer for it, usually they will say wet springs.
In my opinion, predators play a major role. When there are lots of coyotes and racoons around, coupled with a very low population of rabbits, it is tough for the grouse.
Couple this with a few mama owls feeding a hungry young family and one wonders how any grouse can survive.
 
H4831 said:
Grouse, like quite a few of our wild creatures, run in cycles. It's common to have a build up to a high population of them, then a crash to very low numbers.
Biologists will always have an answer for it, usually they will say wet springs.
In my opinion, predators play a major role. When there are lots of coyotes and racoons around, coupled with a very low population of rabbits, it is tough for the grouse.
Couple this with a few mama owls feeding a hungry young family and one wonders how any grouse can survive.
Click to expand...

Raccoons Ha? Say no more. I was already looking for an excuse! :D

But really, I hope you are right about this thing being cyclical, because that means their population shoud recover soon.
 
Ruffies were pretty scarce last fall (though sharp-tail numbers were OK). I haven't seen many broods this spring, but the weather was fair. I wait until the leaves come off before proclaimimg a good or bad year. Sometimes it seems they don't become obvious until then.
 
I believe weather is a major factor in grouse numbers. This coupled with the cycle dictates numbers. One of my theories is lynx live off rabbits and when their numbers are up it takes pressure off grouse. Grouse will have two broods if conditions dictate.
 
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