ND Sharptail, Huns Show Slight Increase, Ruffs Down

North Dakota hunters should expect to see a slight increase in sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge numbers this hunting season, based on spring survey numbers. However, the ruffed grouse population continues on a downward trend.

The season for sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse and Hungarian partridge opens Sept. 8.
 Aaron Robinson, State Game and Fish Department upland game management biologist, Dickinson, said the spring sharptail breeding population was up from last year. However, he said the continued losses of native prairie and acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program are negatively affecting the sharp-tailed grouse population in North Dakota.

Hungarian partridge numbers show a moderate increase from 2011. “Similar to recent years, scouting areas will be critical to success,” Robinson said. “Pockets of decent hunting may be found in areas where multiple pairs reproduced successfully.”

This spring’s statewide ruffed grouse drumming counts took a dip of 37 percent from 2011. The number of drumming males decreased almost 42 percent in the Pembina Hills and 24 percent in the Turtle Mountains.

Biologists are in the process of compiling summer brood date, which provides a more complete assessment of the fall season. Results will be available the first week in September.
The sage grouse and prairie chicken seasons will remain closed in 2012 due to low populations.
Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Sharptails, ruffed grouse and Huns each have a daily limit of three and a possession limit of 12.

Hunters, regardless of age, must have a fishing, hunting and furbearer certificate and general game and habitat license. In addition, hunters age 16 and older need a small game license.

For further season information and regulations, hunters should consult the North Dakota 2012-13 Small Game Hunting Guide.

Complete Article and ND G&F Website

American woodcock Migration Maps

 The Ruffed Grouse Society is pleased to once again provide the American woodcock migration mapping feature. It was active from September 19, 2011 through April 30, 2012.

 

Check here for prior day, week, month and season maps, which when compared will show the general movement of the birds on their migration.

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The Migration Map opened for fall 2011 to April 30, 2012, as of Sept. 19, 2011.

Post New Activity Reports for Current Date

Historical maps for Fall 2011 thru April 2012, most recent at the top.

March 2012 maps may be viewed here.

February 2012 maps may be viewed here.

January 2012 maps may be viewed here.

December 2011 maps may be viewed here.

November 2011 maps may be viewed here.

October 2011 maps may be viewed here.

September 2011 maps may be viewed here.

 

April 2012 maps may be here.

Links to Historical maps for Fall 2009 thru December 2011 may be found here.

New Hampshire - Free Workshop on Ruffed Grouse Hunting August 18

HOLDERNESS, N.H. - Get set for the fall grouse season at a free workshop on Ruffed Grouse Hunting on Saturday, August 18, 2012, from 9 a.m. to noon at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's Owl Brook Hunter Education Center in Holderness. The session will be led by grouse hunting enthusiasts/hunter education instructors Sean Williamson and Dan Keleher. In addition, Andrew Weik, the Northeast biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, will give a presentation on ruffed grouse and their habitat needs. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, call 603-536-3954.

The workshop covers the basic skills needed for the pursuit of these challenging birds. Participants also will learn about grouse behavior, hunting safety issues, hunting with or without dogs, gaining permission to hunt/landowner relations, clothing choices, shotgun and ammunition options, creature comforts for an enjoyable hunt and recipes for grouse.

Grouse hunting season in New Hampshire opens October 1 and runs through December 31, with a daily bag limit of four birds. To learn more about small game hunting in New Hampshire, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_spec ... l_game.htm.

For more information about the Owl Brook Hunter Education Center, and directions to the center, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/hunter_ed_center.htm.

WA and OR Grouse Habitat Maps Available

A joint project between the USFS and RGS publishes newly available maps of potential ruffed grouse and blue grouse habitat on national forests in Oregon and Washington.

Utilizing US Forest Service data, potential ruffed grouse (and blue grouse) habitat has been mapped using GoogleEarth. By clicking the various combinations of data layers, the viewer can see rough maps of National Forests within Oregon and Washington overlaid with colors denoting potential grouse habitat. You can also select various views (Map, Terrain, Satellite, or Hybrid) and also zoom in to see greater detail.

Pages describing NW US habitat, in word and photos, for each species are also provided.

 

RGS anticipates that users will be able to print copies of specific areas to investigate this fall for the presence of these two great gamebirds.

This is the first attempt at providing this type of information on such a large area. We would like your comments on this effort. Comments may be directed to the two contacts on the page or via the new RGS Forums > Public Forums > Grouse Maps subforum.

MN 2012 Ruffed grouse counts decline - average decline of 24 to 60 percent

Minnesota’s ruffed grouse spring drumming counts were lower than last year across most of the bird’s range, according to a survey conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Compared with drumming counts conducted in 2011, 2012 survey results showed an average decline of 24 to 60 percent, to 1.1 drums per stop, in the northeast survey region, which is the core and bulk of grouse range in Minnesota. Drumming counts in the northwest declined 33 to 73 percent to 0.9 drums per stop. Drumming counts did not change significantly in the central hardwoods or southeast, which had averages of 0.6 and 0.7 drums per stop, respectively.

“The grouse population is in the declining phase of its 10-year cycle,” said Mike Larson, DNR wildlife research group leader and grouse biologist. “The most recent peak in drum counts was during 2009, but hunter harvests remained relatively high through at least 2010.”

Ruffed grouse populations, which tend to rise and fall on a 10-year cycle, are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout the state’s forested regions. This year observers recorded 1.0 drums per stop statewide. The averages during 2010 and 2011 were 1.5 and 1.7 drums per stop, respectively. Counts vary from about 0.8 drums per stop during years of low grouse abundance to about 1.9 during years of high abundance.

Drumming counts are an indicator of the ruffed grouse breeding population. The number of birds present during the fall hunting season also depends upon nesting success and chick survival during the spring and summer.

Minnesota frequently is the nation’s top ruffed grouse producer. On average, 115,000 hunters harvest 545,000 ruffed grouse in Minnesota each year, also making it the state’s most popular game bird. During the peak years of 1971 and 1989, hunters harvested more than 1 million ruffed grouse. Michigan and Wisconsin, which frequently field more hunters than Minnesota, round out the top three states in ruffed grouse harvest.

One reason for the Minnesota’s status as a top grouse producer is an abundance of aspen and other ruffed grouse habitat, much of it located on county, state and national forests, where public hunting is allowed. An estimated 11.5 million of the state’s 16.3 million acres of forest are grouse habitat.
For the past 63 years, DNR biologists have monitored ruffed grouse populations. This year,
DNR staff and cooperators from 15 organizations surveyed 126 routes across the state.

Sharp-tailed grouse counts decrease slightly
Sharp-tailed grouse counts in the northwest survey region decreased approximately 18 percent between 2011 and 2012, Larson said. Counts in the east-central region declined approximately 33 percent.
Observers look for male sharptails displaying on traditional mating areas, called leks or dancing grounds. Despite three years of declines, this year’s statewide average of 9.2 grouse counted per dancing ground was similar to the long-term average since 1980. The 2009 average of 13.6 was as high as during any year since 1980. During the last 25 years, the sharp-tailed grouse index has been as low as seven birds counted per dancing ground.

Overall, sharptail populations appear to have declined over the long term as a result of habitat deterioration. In recent years, the DNR has increased prescribed burning and shearing that keep trees from overtaking the open brush lands that sharp-tailed grouse need to thrive.
The DNR’s 2012 grouse survey report, which contains information on ruffed grouse and sharp-tailed grouse, will be available soon online at www.mndnr.gov/hunting/grouse.