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.
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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.
