Are Ruffed Grouse Populations Improving ?
- Thread starter djm
- Start date
Eastern Ontario, we have 2 or 3 regulars on the trail cam this last two years. I could go take a picture of one right now probably. It's in the same damn spruce tree almost every time I change the sd card on one of our cams, haha!
This spring when I was clearing the spot for my walnut trees, there was a fair bit of drumming on the logs I had yet to drag home from the spruce I fell. Plus, we accidentally spooked about 8 chicks, barely able to fly. I was very happy to see them there. I hope some of them made it. Lots of fishers about. All the work I'm doing on this property, is primarily focused on grouse habitat, even more so than deer. I'll probably never shoot one here, they're just (seemingly) too rare.
This spring when I was clearing the spot for my walnut trees, there was a fair bit of drumming on the logs I had yet to drag home from the spruce I fell. Plus, we accidentally spooked about 8 chicks, barely able to fly. I was very happy to see them there. I hope some of them made it. Lots of fishers about. All the work I'm doing on this property, is primarily focused on grouse habitat, even more so than deer. I'll probably never shoot one here, they're just (seemingly) too rare.
Eastern Ont.
I have seen more this past year than in a very long time but still no where near what I saw as a kid.
The land I'm on hasn't had much development so that can be ruled out
I have heard that wild turkey eat the eggs/young? The timing lines up right but I don't know if that's just a Fudd tale?
I have seen more this past year than in a very long time but still no where near what I saw as a kid.
The land I'm on hasn't had much development so that can be ruled out
I have heard that wild turkey eat the eggs/young? The timing lines up right but I don't know if that's just a Fudd tale?
I can help you with those killer turkeys .... I hunt a lot of Woolwich and this year there seems to be more flushes than other years ... I don't hunt grouse in southern Ontario but the numbers are maybe up a bit .... you could be seeing the same birds and only have a couple around ... the hay day for southern grouse was the 1975 to 1980 for me ....
Numbers are down even in areas with few turkeys, so I don't think that's the cause.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I sometimes believe us Canadians often underestimate our natural predators. Foxes, coyotes and cats probably have a larger effect on nesting season that we care to admit. Along with owls and other raptors.
In Montana the grassy right of ways are forbidden ground for any and all farming practices.
In Montana the grassy right of ways are forbidden ground for any and all farming practices.
It is not unusual to hear hunters lamenting that wild turkeys are hurting the native ruffed grouse population. Many believe the turkeys eat grouse eggs, fight for the same food source and make life miserable for the native grouse. Adding to the perception is that more and more turkeys are being seen in fields across the state while the grouse population is on the decline.
Studies done by the University of Minnesota suggest that turkeys do impact their new environment, but historically turkeys and grouse have coexisted in portions of the eastern U.S. where their ranges overlap. Their studies show that turkeys favor a mix of fields and mature forest throughout their lives, especially oak forests. Ruffed grouse prefer a combination of young, dense forest for overhead cover from raptors. They rarely use open fields. While both birds share some foods, their diets differ enough to prevent substantial competition.
Grouse numbers are down, and they appear to be at the bottom of their ten-year life cycle. Their numbers appear to weaken from spring to fall counting periods. Current research is being done to see if West Nile is a contributing factor in decreasing numbers of grouse or if something else is contributing to these low numbers.
From The web
Studies done by the University of Minnesota suggest that turkeys do impact their new environment, but historically turkeys and grouse have coexisted in portions of the eastern U.S. where their ranges overlap. Their studies show that turkeys favor a mix of fields and mature forest throughout their lives, especially oak forests. Ruffed grouse prefer a combination of young, dense forest for overhead cover from raptors. They rarely use open fields. While both birds share some foods, their diets differ enough to prevent substantial competition.
Grouse numbers are down, and they appear to be at the bottom of their ten-year life cycle. Their numbers appear to weaken from spring to fall counting periods. Current research is being done to see if West Nile is a contributing factor in decreasing numbers of grouse or if something else is contributing to these low numbers.
From The web
Londonshooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
Fewer grouse on my lot this past year than previous years - this is in zone 48 near north Ontario. I only kill one or two a year so it's not me. I could always find them but not tripping over them as compared to the past several seasons. Drumming in May was sporadic rather than constant so I assume it was a carry-through from last year rather than poor 2021 hatches or brood survival. It's hard to know in a small woodlot. Perhaps a Great Horned Owl moved in during the winter.
Read a pretty good theory that grouse numbers are tied to the seven year rabbit population cycle- when rabbit numbers start going down, predators turn to grouse for food and the pressure brings them down too, until the unavailability of anything to eat crashes the predator numbers and the rabbits start breeding up again....
