MADISON – Ruffed grouse populations in Wisconsin have shown another slight decline this spring, according to results of the recently completed roadside ruffed grouse survey.
“The index that Wisconsin uses to track ruffed grouse decreased 9 percent between 2012 and 2013,” said Brian Dhuey, Department of Natural Resources wildlife surveys coordinator. “This decrease isn’t unexpected at this point in the population cycle. Ruffed grouse populations are known to boom and bust over a nine- to 11-year cycle. Grouse populations in Wisconsin tend to be at their peak in years ending in a nine or zero.”
The roadside survey to monitor the number of breeding grouse has been conducted by staff from the DNR, U.S. Forest Service, tribal employees, and numerous grouse enthusiasts and volunteers since 1964. Surveyors begin 30 minutes before sunrise and drive along established routes, making 10 stops at assigned points and listening for four minutes for the distinctive “thump, thump, thump” sounds made by drumming male grouse. Results from this survey help DNR biologists monitor the cyclic population dynamics of ruffed grouse in the state.
The number of drums heard per stop in 2013 was down 9 percent statewide from the previous year. One of the primary regions for grouse in the state, the central region, showed an 18 percent drop in the number of drums heard per stop, yet the other primary region in the north showed a 2 percent increase.
Intensive surveys were also run on two research areas. The Sandhill Wildlife Area in Wood County showed a decline of 5 percent. The Stone Lake Experimental Area in Oneida County showed an increase of 2 percent.
According to Scott Walter, DNR upland wildlife ecologist, maturation of southern Wisconsin’s forest community in recent decades, and the resulting loss of dense, brushy areas that grouse need for cover, has contributed to lower numbers of grouse.
“Ruffed grouse are closely linked to young forest habitats that develop following large disturbances, notably logging activities,” Walter said. “While we often focus as hunters on grouse numbers in a single year, it’s important to remember that the long-term health of grouse and other early-successional wildlife is dependent upon our ability to create the dense young cover they require. Lacking significant, broad-scale forms of natural disturbance such as fire, we need to ensure that intensive timber harvests remain a component of our forest management activities.”
In regard to the slight increase in northern Wisconsin, Gary Zimmer, coordinating biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, points to the weather.
"Weather, especially during the brood rearing period in late May and early June, plays an important role in ruffed grouse numbers," said Zimmer. "The slight increase shown in this spring’s northern region drumming counts, even in a downward cycle, can definitely be tied to 2012's excellent brood rearing conditions with its lengthy dry, warm period in June.
“Unfortunately, this spring’s weather is not following the same pattern and it is doubtful fall grouse numbers will be comparable to last year in the north woods. However, even with lower populations, Wisconsin still has some of the best grouse hunting in the country," Zimmer said.
Complete survey results can be found by searching the DNR website for “ wildlife reports.”
For more information, search the DNR website for “ruffed grouse hunting."
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Walter, upland wildlife ecologist, 608-267-7861 or Brian Dhuey, wildlife surveys coordinator, 608-221-6342
Volunteers help Michigan DNRE biologists band woodcock
For the majority of pointing-dog enthusiasts, nothing compares to autumn, when hunting season is open and hunters can spend their days with their best friends in pursuit of upland birds. But for a small minority of bird-dog aficionados, there's even more fun to be had in spring.
Spring is the other bird season: banding season, when hunters exchange their firearms for landing nets and pursue woodcock with the express purpose of capturing them, only to release them as soon as they've been festooned with small metal leg bands.
From April until June, a small contingent of dedicated bird-dog owners takes to the wood lots of Michigan to locate and band the needle-nosed migrants. The bands that are returned by hunters provide important information to wildlife managers about the population, distribution and life history of woodcock.
Woodcock are migratory birds that are more closely related to shore birds than they are to other upland game birds, but have adapted to forested habitat. Woodcock prefer early-age forests with moist soils.
Mottled brown birds with long beaks that they use to feed by probing the moist earth for invertebrates, woodcock are so well camouflaged that their first instinct, when approached, is to freeze. That makes them perfect for pursuit with pointing dogs.
Michigan leads the nation in woodcock banding, largely because of its volunteer army of woodcock banders. Every year, volunteers spend more than 1,000 hours in Michigan wood lots, banding 1,000 or more mostly recently hatched woodcock.
Michigan has been in the forefront of banding since 1960, when federal wildlife officials asked state natural resources agencies in woodcock production states to help band large numbers of woodcock for a population study. Michigan wildlife biologist G. A. "Andy" Ammann participated in the banding effort and helped refine the technique of using pointing dogs to locate woodcock broods.
By 1965, six people, mostly professional wildlife biologists, were actively banding woodcock in Michigan. But as time progressed, Ammann and others trained volunteers to join the effort. By the mid 1990s, there were about 100 volunteers banding woodcock in the state.
The drill is fairly simple: Volunteers take to the forests with their dogs. The dogs point nesting or brooding woodcock hens. Using long-handled nets, the volunteers capture the hens -- if they can - which they'll band before they release them. But they also look for nests or chicks on the ground.
When a brooding hen is flushed, she'll typically fly just a short distance and then feign a broken wing, a behavior designed to draw the bander away from the chicks. It's a tip-off to banders that chicks are present.
The mottled brown and yellow chicks blend perfectly into the early spring vegetation; it takes eagle eyes to spot them as they remain motionless, waiting for the perceived danger to pass. After the banders have searched the area visually, identifying what chicks they can find, the banders gently pick up the chicks. That usually prompts the chicks to start peeping; the calls typically spur the remaining chick to begin running, making them more visible.
The banders work quickly to minimize stress to the chicks. They measure the chick's beak to help determine its age. (Woodcock are born with a 14 mm beak and it grows 2 mm a day). They attach a thin metal band with a serial number to the chick's leg and record all relevant data. Then they release the chicks. The hen and chicks soon re-unite. In fact, many woodcock banders recount having a hen fly back and sit nearby while they band the chicks.
Not just anyone can band woodcock. Would-be woodcock banders must attend a mandatory workshop, study under the guidance of an experienced bander, and have their dogs certified as able to perform the task without jeopardizing the birds' safety. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment issues permits to allowing individuals to band woodcock.
Randy Strouse, a retired skilled tradesman in an auto plant, has been banding woodcock since 1991. Strouse says he tries to spend at least 60 hours in the woods banding each spring and usually bands more than 50 birds, though he has surpassed 80 some years.
"I hunt, just like anyone else, but if I see a woodcock on the ground and it has a band, I won't shoot it when it flushes," Strouse said. "If it's this year's bird, you wouldn't be able to gather any information from it."
Strouse will gladly tell you he'd rather band woodcock than hunt them.
"The banding community really likes doing this," Strouse said. "If I had to give up one or the other, I'd give up hunting."
Banding woodcock makes it possible for hunters to contribute to conservation efforts in a hands-on manner. And it makes the whole effort practical.
"Without the volunteer banders, we wouldn't be able to band anywhere near the number of woodcock we band each year," said Al Stewart, the DNRE's upland game bird specialist. "It's the main reason Michigan leads the nation in the number of woodcock banded."
Banders are busy in the Michigan woods right now and will continue through early June, by which time the bulk of the chicks have developed enough that they can fly and further banding efforts are fruitless.
Original MI DNR article
Spring is the other bird season: banding season, when hunters exchange their firearms for landing nets and pursue woodcock with the express purpose of capturing them, only to release them as soon as they've been festooned with small metal leg bands.
From April until June, a small contingent of dedicated bird-dog owners takes to the wood lots of Michigan to locate and band the needle-nosed migrants. The bands that are returned by hunters provide important information to wildlife managers about the population, distribution and life history of woodcock.
Woodcock are migratory birds that are more closely related to shore birds than they are to other upland game birds, but have adapted to forested habitat. Woodcock prefer early-age forests with moist soils.
Mottled brown birds with long beaks that they use to feed by probing the moist earth for invertebrates, woodcock are so well camouflaged that their first instinct, when approached, is to freeze. That makes them perfect for pursuit with pointing dogs.
Michigan leads the nation in woodcock banding, largely because of its volunteer army of woodcock banders. Every year, volunteers spend more than 1,000 hours in Michigan wood lots, banding 1,000 or more mostly recently hatched woodcock.
Michigan has been in the forefront of banding since 1960, when federal wildlife officials asked state natural resources agencies in woodcock production states to help band large numbers of woodcock for a population study. Michigan wildlife biologist G. A. "Andy" Ammann participated in the banding effort and helped refine the technique of using pointing dogs to locate woodcock broods.
By 1965, six people, mostly professional wildlife biologists, were actively banding woodcock in Michigan. But as time progressed, Ammann and others trained volunteers to join the effort. By the mid 1990s, there were about 100 volunteers banding woodcock in the state.
The drill is fairly simple: Volunteers take to the forests with their dogs. The dogs point nesting or brooding woodcock hens. Using long-handled nets, the volunteers capture the hens -- if they can - which they'll band before they release them. But they also look for nests or chicks on the ground.
When a brooding hen is flushed, she'll typically fly just a short distance and then feign a broken wing, a behavior designed to draw the bander away from the chicks. It's a tip-off to banders that chicks are present.
The mottled brown and yellow chicks blend perfectly into the early spring vegetation; it takes eagle eyes to spot them as they remain motionless, waiting for the perceived danger to pass. After the banders have searched the area visually, identifying what chicks they can find, the banders gently pick up the chicks. That usually prompts the chicks to start peeping; the calls typically spur the remaining chick to begin running, making them more visible.
The banders work quickly to minimize stress to the chicks. They measure the chick's beak to help determine its age. (Woodcock are born with a 14 mm beak and it grows 2 mm a day). They attach a thin metal band with a serial number to the chick's leg and record all relevant data. Then they release the chicks. The hen and chicks soon re-unite. In fact, many woodcock banders recount having a hen fly back and sit nearby while they band the chicks.
Not just anyone can band woodcock. Would-be woodcock banders must attend a mandatory workshop, study under the guidance of an experienced bander, and have their dogs certified as able to perform the task without jeopardizing the birds' safety. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment issues permits to allowing individuals to band woodcock.
Randy Strouse, a retired skilled tradesman in an auto plant, has been banding woodcock since 1991. Strouse says he tries to spend at least 60 hours in the woods banding each spring and usually bands more than 50 birds, though he has surpassed 80 some years.
"I hunt, just like anyone else, but if I see a woodcock on the ground and it has a band, I won't shoot it when it flushes," Strouse said. "If it's this year's bird, you wouldn't be able to gather any information from it."
Strouse will gladly tell you he'd rather band woodcock than hunt them.
"The banding community really likes doing this," Strouse said. "If I had to give up one or the other, I'd give up hunting."
Banding woodcock makes it possible for hunters to contribute to conservation efforts in a hands-on manner. And it makes the whole effort practical.
"Without the volunteer banders, we wouldn't be able to band anywhere near the number of woodcock we band each year," said Al Stewart, the DNRE's upland game bird specialist. "It's the main reason Michigan leads the nation in the number of woodcock banded."
Banders are busy in the Michigan woods right now and will continue through early June, by which time the bulk of the chicks have developed enough that they can fly and further banding efforts are fruitless.
Original MI DNR article
MI Ruffed Grouse Society to hold Gun Dog Fun Field Trials in New Era
By Follow on Twitter
The West Michigan Lakeshore Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society plans to hold its Gun Dog Fun Trial in New Era this year.
The annual event for hunters and their dogs will be held 8 a.m. Sunday, June 23 at Modaka Kennels, 5023 S. 48th Ave. in New Era.
The event, heading into its fifth year, has previously been held at a Zeeland location, but won't be able to use the location this year due to a scheduled burn by the property owner.
The Gun Dog Fun Trial is a chance for hunters and their dogs to compete against each other and hone their skills for hunting game birds.
“It’s set up for the guy that goes out and hunts every week with his dog,” said Nick Moe, president of the West Michigan Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society.
Both pointing and flushing breeds compete in the event. Each dog-and-man team has 20 minutes in a field to find two pen-raised birds, called Chukars, that have been planted in the field. The teams have to flush out the birds and shoot them.
“It’s definitely a competitive thing,” Moe said.
More information and the complete MLive article Plus photo slide show
The West Michigan Lakeshore Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society plans to hold its Gun Dog Fun Trial in New Era this year.
The annual event for hunters and their dogs will be held 8 a.m. Sunday, June 23 at Modaka Kennels, 5023 S. 48th Ave. in New Era.
The event, heading into its fifth year, has previously been held at a Zeeland location, but won't be able to use the location this year due to a scheduled burn by the property owner.
The Gun Dog Fun Trial is a chance for hunters and their dogs to compete against each other and hone their skills for hunting game birds.
“It’s set up for the guy that goes out and hunts every week with his dog,” said Nick Moe, president of the West Michigan Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society.
Both pointing and flushing breeds compete in the event. Each dog-and-man team has 20 minutes in a field to find two pen-raised birds, called Chukars, that have been planted in the field. The teams have to flush out the birds and shoot them.
“It’s definitely a competitive thing,” Moe said.
More information and the complete MLive article Plus photo slide show
Artist wins Wyoming Game and Fish Department's annual Conservation Stamp Art competition with a Ruffed Grouse painting
by Dan Sanderson-Staff Writer
An image of ruffed grouse, plucking berries off of trees over the AuSable River, has garnered a national award for a Grayling wildlife artist and downtown gallery owner.
Kim Diment won first place in the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Stamp Art competition for a painting she did of ruffed grouse called "Dine and Dash."
Diment learned that the ruffed grouse was the animal for the 2014 Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Stamp Art competition while she was in the state last fall for a workshop.
The Susan Kathleen Black Workshop and Arts Conference hosts between 50 to 150 plein air artists, who paint out in the field, every year. Black was a nature artist. The workshop was founded by Black's husband, Jim Parkman, as tribute to Black after she died from cancer. The workshop is a means to support a foundation and other efforts to advance art education in Black's honor.
"It's a beautiful location along with being an area, where you can do a lot of photography if you want to do that because there are animals everywhere and great things to photograph," Diment said.
After the workshop, Diment was taking reference photos of animals in the Grand Teton National Park, when she captured a photo of a family of ruffed grouse. A friend informed her that ruffed grouse was selected as the subject matter for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Stamp Art competition.
Ironically, the image Diment used for the winning painting was captured outside her home art studio, overlooking the AuSable River. Oak, hawthorn trees and wild crab apple trees are located on the banks of the river and the surrounding property.
"The ruffed grouse keep coming in to feed as long as the berries are there," Diment said.
Read the rest of the Crawford County Avalanche article
An image of ruffed grouse, plucking berries off of trees over the AuSable River, has garnered a national award for a Grayling wildlife artist and downtown gallery owner.
Kim Diment won first place in the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Stamp Art competition for a painting she did of ruffed grouse called "Dine and Dash."
Diment learned that the ruffed grouse was the animal for the 2014 Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Stamp Art competition while she was in the state last fall for a workshop.
The Susan Kathleen Black Workshop and Arts Conference hosts between 50 to 150 plein air artists, who paint out in the field, every year. Black was a nature artist. The workshop was founded by Black's husband, Jim Parkman, as tribute to Black after she died from cancer. The workshop is a means to support a foundation and other efforts to advance art education in Black's honor.
"It's a beautiful location along with being an area, where you can do a lot of photography if you want to do that because there are animals everywhere and great things to photograph," Diment said.
After the workshop, Diment was taking reference photos of animals in the Grand Teton National Park, when she captured a photo of a family of ruffed grouse. A friend informed her that ruffed grouse was selected as the subject matter for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Conservation Stamp Art competition.
Ironically, the image Diment used for the winning painting was captured outside her home art studio, overlooking the AuSable River. Oak, hawthorn trees and wild crab apple trees are located on the banks of the river and the surrounding property.
"The ruffed grouse keep coming in to feed as long as the berries are there," Diment said.
Read the rest of the Crawford County Avalanche article
2012-13 New York State Grouse and Woodcock Hunting Log Results
During the 2012-13 ruffed grouse and American woodcock hunting seasons, 280 hunters recorded their daily hunting activities, including information such as the number of birds flushed, the number of hours hunted, the number of birds killed, and if a dog was used to hunt grouse and woodcock. The primary purpose of the log is to monitor the number of birds flushed per hour. Changes in the flush rate illustrate trends in the grouse and woodcock populations when viewed over a long period of time and will provide insight into statewide distributions for these popular game species as habitats change both locally and on a landscape scale.
You can view, print, or download the 2012-13 Grouse and Woodcock Log Report (PDF) (1.1 MB).
We thank all the hunters that participated in this survey during the 2012-13 seasons.
You can view, print, or download the 2012-13 Grouse and Woodcock Log Report (PDF) (1.1 MB).
We thank all the hunters that participated in this survey during the 2012-13 seasons.
Results from the 2012-13 Season
During the 2012-13 season, participants reported data from over 2,600 hunting trips across the state, from the lower Hudson Valley in the south, to the Adirondacks and St. Lawrence Valley in the north, and the Lake Plains and Allegheny Plateau in far western New York. They spent almost 7,000 hours afield and flushed almost 5,000 grouse (about 0.7 flushes/hour) and close to 2,700 woodcock (about 0.6 flushes/hour). Some findings from the 2012-13 season include:Grouse Hunting
- Hunters participating in the survey averaged about 25 hours afield during the 2012-13 season. They took about 9 trips afield for the season and spent about 3 hours afield per trip.
- Grouse log participants averaged about 18 grouse flushed per hunter for the 2012-13 season and had to spend about one hour and 20 minutes hunting in order to flush one grouse. In addition, hunters averaged about 1.4 birds harvested for the season and had to invest over 16 hours of hunting effort to harvest one grouse. On average, one out of every 12 grouse flushes resulted in a kill (a 8.5% success rate).
- About 68% of the effort expended by hunters occurred during the first half of the season (September November). In addition, about 75% of the grouse flushed and 79% of the grouse harvested occurred during this early part of the season. The flush rate was higher during the first half of the season (0.79 vs. 0.61), and varied by month with a peak in November (0.84 flushes/hour).
- Slightly more effort was expended by hunters on public lands, and the number of grouse flushed was slightly higher there; however, the flush rate was slightly higher private lands (0.76 vs. 0.69 flushes/hour).
- Overall, there was far more effort expended in the southern grouse season zone than the northern season zone (over 70% of the total), but the flush rate was similar between the southern zone and northern zone (about 0.73 grouse flushed/hour).
- Hunting effort was well distributed across major geographic regions of New York State. About 40% of the hunting effort took place in western New York (35% Appalachian Hills & Plateau Ecozone, 5% Lake Plains Ecozone), about 27% in northern New York (15% Adirondacks Tug Hill Ecozone, 9% St. Lawrence Valley Ecozone, 3% Champlain Valley Ecozone), and about 33% in the southeastern part of the state (17% Catskills Delaware Hills, 16% Mohawk Valley Hudson Valley Taconic Highlands). The highest number of grouse were flushed and harvested in the Appalachian Hills & Plateau Ecozone, followed by the Catskill Delaware Hills and Adirondacks Tug Hill ecozones (see PDF above of the 2012-13 report for a map with the regions referred to here).
- The flush rate was highest in the Adirondacks-Tug Hill Ecozone (0.91 grouse flushed/hour), followed by the Catskills Delaware Hills and Appalachian Hills & Plateau ecozones (0.84 grouse flushed/hour). The rest of the ecozones were below the annual statewide average of 0.73 grouse flushed/hour.
- Most hunters that participated in the survey used a dog to hunt grouse. In general, hunters that used a dog flushed and harvested more grouse and had a higher flush rate (0.81 grouse flushed/hour) than hunters that did not use a dog (0.60 grouse flushed/hour).
Woodcock Hunting
- Analyses for woodcock data were restricted to 20 September through 30 November. This represents the period in which resident and migrating woodcock were in New York and accounted for 99% of all the woodcock observations during the survey. The results presented in this report are based on 1,749 trips and 4,703 hours afield by 252 hunters.
- Hunters participating in the survey averaged almost 19 hours afield during the 2012 woodcock season. They took about 7 trips afield for the season and spent about 3 hours afield per trip.
- Survey participants averaged almost 11 woodcock flushed per hunter for the 2012 season and had to spend just under 2 hours hunting in order to flush one woodcock. In addition, hunters averaged about 2 birds harvested for the season and had to invest about 9 hours of hunting effort to harvest one woodcock. On average, one out of every 5 woodcock flushes resulted in a kill (a 20% success rate).
- Hunting effort was evenly distributed over the 45-day season, with a peak in effort in early October. More birds were flushed during the first week of October than during any other week of the season, but the flush rate was highest during the fourth week of October (0.81 birds flushed/hour). The overall flush rate from 20 September through 30 November was 0.58 birds/hour.
- There was more hunting effort and woodcock flushed and killed on public land than on private land, but the flush rate was slightly higher on private land (0.61 vs. 0.55 woodcock flushed/hour).
- There was more hunting effort and woodcock flushed and killed in the southern zone than in the northern zone, but the flush rate was higher in the northern zone (0.67 vs. 0.54 woodcock flushed/hour).
- The flush rate was highest in the St. Lawrence Valley Ecozone (0.89 woodcock flushed/hour). Several other ecozones were close to the statewide average flush rate (0.58 birds flushed/hour), with the exception of the Champlain Valley Ecozone, which was below the statewide average (0.41 birds flushed/hour).
- Most hunters that participated in the survey used a dog to hunt woodcock. Hunters that used a dog flushed and harvested more woodcock and had a higher flush rate (0.78 birds flushed/hour) than hunters that did not use a dog (0.16 birds flushed/hour).
Comparing 2012-13 to Previous Seasons
Ruffed Grouse
- Over the past nine seasons, 1,132 hunters have participated in this survey. They took over 26,000 trips afield, spent almost 74,000 hours pursuing grouse, flushed about 74,000 birds, and harvested roughly 6,400 grouse. During this time period, the average flush rate was 1.04 grouse flushed/hour.
- Summary statistics for hunter effort (trips/hunter, hours/hunter) during the 2012-13 season were lower than the previous season and were below the long-term average. Indices for grouse abundance (flushes and kills/hunter, flushes/hour) were lower than 2011-12 and below the long-term average. The 2012-13 flush rate (0.73 birds/hour) was the lowest observed since this survey was initiated in 2004.
- The amount of time spent afield to harvest a grouse has increased the past four seasons from 9 hours in 2009-10 to over 16 hours in 2012-13. The number of grouse flushed and harvested per hunter during 2012-13 were both lower than the previous season and below the long-term average.
- Flush rates declined from 2011-12 to 2012-13 in every ecozone, with the exception of the Adirondacks-Tug Hill which increased about 20% (0.75 to 0.91 birds flushed/hour). Declines ranged from 3% in the Champlain Valley Ecozone (0.67 to 0.65 grouse flushed/hour) to about 30% in the Lake Plains, Appalachians Hills & Plateau, St. Lawrence Valley, and Catskill ecozones. Only the Adirondacks-Tug Hill Ecozone was close to the long-term statewide average (1.04 grouse flushed/hour).
- Annual variation in grouse abundance is likely a result of variation in weather, including spring temperature and rainfall and winter snow conditions, and food availability during the summer and fall (e.g., soft and hard mast). Ecozones with flush rates that are consistently below the statewide average likely suffer from poor habitat quantity and quality. In areas with a lack of the early successional habitats on which this species depends, grouse, their nests, and young are more vulnerable to predation and other limiting factors.
- Over the past nine seasons, trends in grouse populations statewide and in major ecozones have resembled a "bell-shaped curve" that peaked from 2006-09. It is unclear whether this is illustrative of the grouse population "cycles" that have been observed in other states. If we use statewide grouse harvest estimates as an index to grouse populations, over the past two decades there does not seem to be a 10-year cycle in New York. Whether this is because declining habitat quantity and quality have disrupted the cycle, or whether these habitat factors are "masking" a cycle that would normally occur during optimal habitat conditions is not known. Alternately, there may be population cycles operating at a geographic scale larger (e.g., the northeastern U.S.) or smaller (e.g., the St. Lawrence Valley) than currently being measured. In the coming years, data from the Grouse Hunter's Log will help identify patterns in grouse populations and help us determine whether such cycles occur in New York.
- After nine seasons, we can begin to assemble a picture of grouse distribution and abundance in New York State, and use this information to help target habitat management efforts to improve conditions for early successional species (Figure 3). Improving or restoring habitat in or close to regions with high quality habitat has a better chance at being successful than habitat management in regions devoid of high quality grouse habitat. In fact, conducting habitat improvement in regions with a lack of good habitat can have detrimental impacts on grouse populations by creating habitat "sinks" (islands of good habitat in a sea of poor habitat) that are insufficient for reproduction and survival.
American Woodcock
- With the expansion of the woodcock season from 30 days in 2010 to 45 days in 2011, we observed a concomitant increase in hunter effort. From 2011 to 2012, hunter effort was similar, but the flush rate increased from 0.49 to 0.58 birds flushed/hour, comparable to the flush rate in 2010 (0.59 birds flushed/hour).
- A similar trend was observed in the spring "Singing-ground Survey" (SGS) coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The number of singing males per route in New York from 2010 to 2012 was 2.78, 2.61, and 2.67 males, respectively, so over this short time span the SGS conducted in the spring and the hunter's log conducted in the fall seem to be correlated.
- The timing of migration was similar between 2010 and 2012, with the peak in migration occurring slightly later in those years (week of October 25th) than in 2011 (week of October 18th).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)