Swampy Sink Hole Surprise

My father, my GSP Bruno, and I hunted in Cheboygan and Presque Isle Counties today. I shot one ruffed grouse during our brief hunt in Cheboygan County on which Bruno made an excellent retrieve to hand. Then I took my dad to one of my favorite coverts in Presque Isle County. Upon cresting a ridge that overlooked a large pond, a single ruffed grouse launched from a lone pine tree at the pond's edge and flew straight away over the pond. I shot the bird which splash-landed 40+ yards away in the middle of the pond and quickly sent Bruno to retrieve it. I knew immediately that this was going to be a difficult retrieve for Bruno--the approach to the pond's water edge was extremely marshy with spots of open water, lots of swamp muck, short swamp berry bushes, and at times thick marsh grass. Bruno broke though these obstacles like he was an amphibious tank, then leaped into the pond water, and swam another 25 yards to pick up the grouse that floated atop the pond. I decided that I would give my 1.75-year-old GSP a hand and tried with much difficulty to walk via a different route than Bruno had taken atop the boggy marsh vegetation to meet Bruno at the water's edge as he turned to swim back with grouse in mouth. But three quarters of the way to the pond's water edge, I lost my footing as I placed my left boot on top of what I thought was a small firmly-anchored grassy hillock. That grassy knoll suddenly squirted from under my foot across the surface of what was actually a small partially-hidden quicksand area, and I went straight down to my armpits in quicksand before my lightning-fast reaction--placing my 20 gauge o/u shotgun abreast crosswise--caught some nearby vegetation and saved me from disappearing for good. I couldn't touch any bottom, but fortunately I stabilized my position. My 75-year-old father had watched all this happen from the ridge above and yelled encouragement to hold on and that he was going get some rope in my truck to rescue me. I yelled back, "Don't come down! I'm OK. Where's Bruno?" All I could think of was the safety of my dog for I could no longer see or hear him swim. Despite my calling to Bruno and getting no response, I sensed that he was near but in peril. I threw my 20 gauge o/u shotgun back toward shore atop some thick swamp vegetation, grasped bush branches within reach, and carefully crawled on my stomach atop the swamp vegetation toward the pond water's edge to locate my dog. When I saw Bruno, grouse still in his mouth, he was stuck up to his shoulders in quicksand, wide-eyed and whining gently to be rescued. He was sinking fast and couldn't free himself from the muck. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I surged toward him across the remaining swamp vegetation, reached out with my right hand while hanging on for both our lives with my left hand to a nearby pencil-thin bush branch, and pulled him out from his now neck-deep muck predicament. I grabbed the muddy grouse from his mouth, tossed it toward shore, retrieved my shotgun, then followed him to a shoreline that had firm footing. There we washed the quicksand and muck from our coat and clothing. We were wet, exhausted, and lucky to be alive! Whew, what a day afield bird hunting!

2007 Michigan Ruffed Grouse Season Opener

Greetings, Everyone:

Saturday, 9/15, was opening day of ruffed grouse season in Michigan. For those who are unfamiliar with this upland game bird, ruffed grouse are legendary for their wariness and explosive flushes from forest thickets; they are speedy, agile fliers capable of selecting escape flight paths filled with obstacles that shield them from pursuing owls, goshawks, and shotgun pellets. Ruffed grouse can fly dartingly through tree branches and change directions mid-flight. Hence, in North America they are very deservedly known as the King of Upland Game Birds. Ruffed Grouse make splendid table fare, too...that is, if you're fortunate to get enough of them for dinner. Usually 1-2 birds are needed per person to make a satisfying, delicious meal.

Opening morning was a rainy 38-42 degrees in northwestern Lower Michigan. A light breeze emanated from the northwest. East of I-75 the weather was considerably better--partly cloudy with occasional scattered showers. My father and I decided the night before that we would hunt on state land in Crawford County where in August my father and brother had scouted several broods of grouse scampering near the two-tracks. As my father and I drove along one of those two-tracks near noon, I commented that the surrounding flora and terrain appeared to be some of the best grouse habitat that I had seen in years and that we should find a place to park and check for grouse. Sure enough, as if on cue, as we rounded a curvy knoll, an alert ruffed grouse strutted with its perky comb aloft just 40 yards ahead of us in the middle of two-track. I shifted my Explorer into reverse and slowly backed down the two-track until we were just beyond sight of the grouse. I asked my father to keep Bruno quiet in the vehicle, then silently opened the door and quickly grabbed my 20 gauge O/U. As I crested the knoll on the two-track, I observed that the grouse as expected had stepped off into the brush. Slowly I stalked toward the last place where I had seen the grouse. Nothing! Returning to the knoll, I hand signaled to my father who was waiting in the Explorer to release Bruno, whose soft whining I could hear and whose eager, excited face I could view from my location. My 20-month-old German shorthaired pointer, always the hunter, loves to perch his forefeet atop my Explorer's center console and watch for birds whenever we travel along two-tracks.

As I walked back to the place where I had last seen the grouse, I heard Bruno come racing down the knoll toward me. I turned and hand signaled Bruno to whoa, but his momentum carried him five yards beyond me. Instantly, he turned to the right and froze into the most perfect pointing pose. "A-ha! There you are!" I thought to myself as I raised my Weatherby Orion 20 gauge O/U to prepare for a shot. Before I could shoulder my shotgun, I heard two grouse explode into flight from underbrush behind a huge, thick pine. I chuckled to myself. "Typical grouse behavior...No shot on these two." I couldn't even see them. Immediately fifteen yards farther up and to the left of the two-track another pair launched into flight; the thundering wings of the first pair had frightened these into flight. "Darn! No shot there." A hunter typically has only 1-2 seconds to take a clean shot on a ruffed grouse before it escapes in flight behind cover...that is, if it doesn't first launch into flight from behind cover through which it's too thick to see or shoot.

"I'm in the middle of a cluster of young grouse," I smiled. In early fall young ruffed grouse frequently gather into groups of 6-8 before dispersing in late fall to early spring to locate a small parcel in the woods that each can claim their own. Suddenly thundering wings to my left signaled the unchallenged escape of yet another pair. "Stay alert, stupid!" I chastised myself. This time I was ready, that is, if any grouse still lingered. Fortunately, two did and flew straight away directly in front of me, one 20 yards ahead of the other. Snapping my gun to shoulder, I focused on the last fleeing bird and fired. It collapsed immediately in a cloud of feathers. "Fetch it up!" I commanded Bruno, who spiritedly sprinted to retrieve my fallen quarry. "Hey, wait a minute; he's run right past where my bird had fallen!" Bruno appeared to be in hot pursuit of something. I was confused. Next thing I knew, Bruno proudly came marching back with bird in mouth and dropped it softly into my hand. "Good boy, Bruno!" Yes, indeed, he's a good hunter all right--much better than I am. This entire episode of events from the flight of the first pair through the completion of Bruno's retrieve occurred in less than 30 seconds. Fast and furiously fun action, indeed!

In total, we flushed nine ruffed grouse and two woodcock in 2.5 hours of hunting. In 2006 average flush rates statewide in Michigan were 1.81 grouse/hour and 1.41 woodcock/hour. This Opening Day we focused on hunting grouse since woodcock season in Zone 2 Northern Lower Michigan doesn't start until Saturday, 9/22. One of the woodcock that Bruno pointed and I flushed was the largest hen woodcock I have seen in years! I hope to see her later. Yip-pee-ki-yay! What a memorable opening day and dog! See you next week. Until then, do your mind, body, and soul huge favors: Get out and enjoy the great outdoors!



Ruffed Grouse Information

Length: 16 - 19"

Weight: 17 - 25 ounces

Habitat: Deciduous or mixed forests with some dense underbrush;
overgrown shrubby fields, old orchards, or brushy field edges. Favors early-stage forests such as those created by logging or forest fires.

Diet: Seeds, leaves, buds, catkins, and other vegetation; wild fruits, berries, and nuts; some insects, spiders, small
reptiles and amphibians.
© 2002 www.arttoday.com
Range: Ruffed grouse are found throughout North America, from the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia to the interior of Alaska. It is, however, in the aspen (popple) forests of the Great Lakes region that ruffed grouse are most abundant.

Woodcock Banding, Spring 2007

Attached here are photos that I took (from top to bottom) of wild turkey (photo taken on May 11), woodcock (photo taken on May 17), and ruffed grouse (photo taken on May 23) nests while woodcock banding in NE Lower Michigan during spring 2007.

Video--3rd Place Ruffed Grouse Society Jim Foote Chapter 7th Annual Fun Hunt Competition

Bruno competed in the Ruffed Grouse Society Jim Foote Chapter Seventh Annual Fun Hunt Competition held at Wild Wings Game Farm in Alba, Michigan, located southwest of Gaylord.

Thirty dogs competed in 15 braces to locate, point, retrieve when shot, and honor the points of their brace mates for four chukars placed afield per brace in a twenty-minute time period.

My GSP Bruno was drawn to run with Hugh McMaster's English Setter Chip in the 13th brace at2:30 p.m. Everyone in the RGS circle knows and very much likes Hugh; he is a gentleman, offers very helpful assistance and tips to anyone seeking help, and is example for everyone to follow in terms of being active in conservation and promoting young forest habitats for ruffed grouse and woodcock. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to be in a brace with him and his setter.

For four weeks before this competition, Bruno and I had been incredibily busy in the young forests of NE Lower Michigan apprenticing with our mentor banding woodcock for Michigan's DNR. My friend and mentor Paul, his three English Setters, Bruno, and I were in the woods three to four hours per day, four to five days each week, walking an average of 40+ miles/week searching for, capturing, and banding woodcock. We were in top form and fitness, and we were ready to do well in this competition. My friend Mark was my gunner while I handled Bruno.

Bruno was off fast and quickly located, staunchly pointed, and retrieved perfectly to my hand the chukar Mark had expertly downed with one shot. Bruno then found and solidly pointed a second chukar, which stubbornly refused to be flushed by Mark from the prickly berry cover that surrounded a tree in the middle of the brace field. Mark finally succeeded in flushing and shooting the bird, which Bruno again retrieved perfectly to my hand and to the congratulatory applause from Hugh McMaster and his fieldmates. This was very sporting of Hugh and his team to recognize and cheer my young 1.25 year-old GSP for his splendid field performance.

In the final few minutes of the brace period, Bruno located and found his third chukar, which judges Paul Fisher and Sean McKillip recognized, but this time we withdrew Bruno from the bird to give Hugh's setter Chip an opportunity to locate and point the bird and for Bruno to have an opportunity to back and honor Chip's point. Unfortunately brace time expired and Bruno did not have an opprtunity to score additional points for backs.

At the end of the day, Bruno finished an impressive 3rd place in a field that offered very experienced dogs and stiff competition. And, it certainly was fun! Atta boy, Bruno! Here's a video interview with the 3rd place finisher Bruno:

Woodcock Banding, Spring 2007

The photo above is of a 10-day-old woodcock chick (its bill length measured 34 mm) that was captured and banded in Montmorency County, NE Lower Michigan, on May 17, 2007. Note the developing primary wing feathers. This chick will become a fledgling and start flying in another 3.5-5 days.

Woodcock Banding, Spring 2007

Here is a photo that I took of a nesting woodcock hen in Montmorency County in NE Lower Michigan on May 10, 2007.

Do you see her? She's nesting just to the left of the base of the trunk of the small red pine tree in the center of the photo.

Click on the photo to enlarge the view.

Happy Easter from Two Proud Puppies

My German Shorthaired Pointer Bruno is one stout kraut here in this photo. He looks like he should be in an advertisement for the few, the proud, the Marines!

And look at all the snow we still have--it's Easter Sunday, April 8. Where's the spring weather? Hey, at least it's a gorgeous, sunny day. Happy Easter, everyone!