They're Back! Woodcock Banding, Spring 2011

Hey, Birdhunters--the woodcock are back to northern Michigan! Last night while taking my GSPs Bruno and Bella out to perform their bedtime duties, I heard two woodcock males call out from the aspen stands on our property. That's March 17--the earliest I've ever heard them return to NW Lower Michigan. What joyous music to my ears that was! Stay tuned for new blog posts, photos, and videos of Bruno's woodcock-banding adventures later and throughout this spring!

Guiding RGS Supporters on a Woodcock Banding Excursion Spring 2010

For five hours today, I guided Jackie and Jim, a married couple from Grand Traverse County, who made a very generous winning bid at the Ruffed Grouse Society Le Grand Traverse Chapter Fall 2009 Fund-Raising Banquet's Live Auction to accompany my German Shorthaired Pointer Bruno and me on a woodcock banding excursion in northern Michigan during spring 2010.

I originally had planned to take Jackie and Jim woodcock banding locally in NW Lower Michigan, but after my efforts last week scouting for hens and nests in customarily good woodcock mating-and-nesting habitats and finding none at all most likely due to the unseasonably dry weather conditions and forests we've had this spring, I decided to expand my woodcock scouting efforts to NE Lower Michigan, an area where my cabin is located and with which I have been familiar for decades.

On Monday, April 26th, Bruno and I succeeded in locating a hen woodcock and banding three very-well hidden chicks in Otsego County. I was encouraged by Monday's success and thought that the moist forest and soil conditions in north-central and northeastern lower Michigan were more favorable for woodcock to mate and for hens to nest and rear their young than in the drier forests of Benzie, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse counties. Monday evening, I returned to our home in NW Lower Michigan and reported via email to Jackie and Jim the day's banding successes along with a photo of one of the well-hidden chicks I had banded. I then proposed going to NE Lower Michigan for our banding excursion to which they happily agreed.

Precisely on time Thursday morning Bruno and I met Jackie and Jim in Traverse City at the Burger King along Grand View Boulevard. We exchanged greetings and then piled into my Tacoma 4-door 4x4 pickup truck. Our first stop was at the young aspen and tag alder habitat in Otsego County, where on Monday I had banded three woodcock chicks. I wanted to see if I could locate them again and perhaps capture and band the hen and possibly a fourth chick that I may have missed on Monday. We searched for an hour without any success and just as we were returning to my truck, Bruno snapped firmly on point just yards from the two-track trail off of which I had parked my truck.

I approached Bruno slowly, and from five yards behind him I followed his line of sight and scent to observe a nesting woodcock hen hidden superbly ten yards away beneath a small red pine tree. She was barely visible even to my well-trained eye. I motioned for Jackie and Jim to approach my position slowly and pointed where the nesting hen lay. Jim said that he thought he could discern the hen on her nest, but Jackie could not see the hen. She was definitely difficult to see. We left the hen undisturbed; I would return in a few days to check if her chicks had hatched.

I then drove Jackie and Jim to Montmorency County, where we checked a wet aspen stand and tag alder swamp which in years past had consistently produced woodcock hens and chicks. There we searched for an hour but surprisingly found no birds. Everyone was hungry after this search, so we went into the village of Atlanta and enjoyed some delicious soup and sandwiches at the Thunderbay Deli on North M-33.

After feasting on that refreshing lunch, I drove to another favorite woodcock banding area, but this one was farther north in Presque Isle County. Here we succeeded in locating two adult woodcock birds (very likely males), which Bruno pointed superbly. Unfortunately, they did not act as woodcock hens when flushed and despite our diligent searches we found no chicks. It was now late afternoon, and up to this point of our woodcock banding excursion we had encountered four adults woodcock with no birds and one nesting hen, which we made no attempt to capture and did not wish to disturb. Nonetheless, I was determined, with Bruno's assistance, to find and band a least one brood of woodcock chicks so that Jackie and Jim could experience an event that so few outdoors people ever have the opportunity to witness.

Finally, as we were walking along a two-track heading back to my truck to leave for Traverse City, I noticed a draw that headed away from the two-track and back into the woods. I suggested that this be our last attempt to locate chicks, and Jackie and Jim agreed. Just twenty five yards into the draw, Bruno squared staunchly on point (see the above photo that Jackie snapped). I instructed Jackie and Jim to stand where I was standing fifteen feet behind Bruno while I looped ahead of Bruno fifteen yards and walked back slowly towards them to see if we could locate a hen and chicks. My plan worked! A hen lifted from the ground with feet dangling loosely from her body and fluttered twenty yards past me before landing and feigning injury to draw me away from her likely nearby chicks. This was classic woodcock hen behavior. "It's a hen!" I announced to Jackie and Jim. "There are chicks nearby, so watch where you place your feet and please walk slowly. We don't want to step on and injure any chicks." Bruno stayed staunchly in place, but as a precautionary measure I had Jim leash him up and tie him to a nearby sappling. Almost instantly, I found a chick, and as I gently placed my hat over it, three other chicks raced away chirping loudly in alarm with their wings outstretched. All three little critters were fleeing fast! I quickly instructed Jackie to watch the chick that was under my hat as Jim raced to capture one of the chicks and I raced after the other two who fled together up a hill in an opposite direction. Whew, the action was fast! As I captured and placed the two chicks that I had pursued into my zippered nylon mesh holding bag, Jackie cried for assistance, "Mine's getting away!"

Jim added, "I cannot see mine any more. I've lost him!"

I went to help Jackie first. She smiled and explained that the chick had crept from under my hat, darted across the top of her boot, and disappeared immediately into the nearby brush. She was truly thrilled to have had such an exciting close encounter with this little woodcock chick. We searched but couldn't find the chick. We both then went to help Jim, who said that his chick "disappeared like magic." All three of us couldn't find that chick after a quick search.

So I quickly drew my banding equipment from my vest and explained to Jackie and Jim the need to band the two that I had caught, measure their bill length from which we can determine their age in days, and release the chicks back to the mother hen as quickly as possible so that she can recover and shelter them before dusk. See the photo that Jackie took of me banding one of the chicks. Its bill length measured 30 mm, which meant that the chick was eight days old and hatched on April 21.

Our drive home that evening was filled with enthusiastic conversation about today's thrilling woodcock banding experience. Jackie and Jim told me later that they called their children immediately upon arriving home to tell them of their great woodcock-banding adventures with Bruno and me.

Thank you, Jackie and Jim, for your very generous support of the Ruffed Grouse Society and for young forest habitats in which ruffed grouse and woodcock (along with 70 other species of wildlife)reside. Your support for RGS, conservation causes, young forests, and these marvelous game birds as well as the memories we share from our woodcock banding adventure today are priceless!

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.

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: