Grouse Season 2011:

[netcoyote]

Here's another picture of 'em. Being that I am newish to grouse hunting, I had a heck of a time trying to I.D. them. Maybe I was incorrect?

Good hunting on Sunday with ya there, Heartsblood. I've been trying to get a better ID on those birds since we got back. The one bomber that I got on Saturday was definitely a Blue. A Blue male at that. As soon as I heard the "thump" when he hit the ground, I knew he was a big Blue.

I've been searching for some good ID information and pics and the best that I could find is this one:
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/huntplanner/biggame.aspx?id=10

Spruce grouse or Blue?? It's really tough to tell the difference between young birds if they are both female. Pretty sure that they were females. Did you notice any combs above the eyes? It appears that the Spruce have a bit more white on the belly feathers than the Blues. Mature Blues will always be larger than Spruce. Regional differences may also make ID'ing difficult if we try to compare western birds with eastern.

Friday I bagged a smallish bird because I was starting to think this year was like the last and I may not get another shot at one. Since it appears there are a lot of birds out there, I decided to be picky and only take the biggest. What a welcome change from last year!

[Heartsblood]

Thanks for the link netcoyote! Yes these were all nearly mature females - no comb, but almost completed tailfans. The only thing I see that consistently shows up on images of both spruce and blue females is the color of the area just above the eye - most pictures show blues with a yellowish "eyeshadow" and spruces with a reddish shade. I don't think this shaded area is actually the "comb" but I could be wrong.

It was great to meet ya (and Boomer!) sunday. I had an awesome time. We should do it again sooner than later. And let's talk turkey when it gets closer too  .

[SkookumJeff]

I also really enjoyed meeting you Hartsblood!

Both of the grouse I took this weekend were Spruce grouse.  Beautiful birds with black feathers, white accent feathers and brilliant red eye combs.  I noticed that one of these birds were walking around with their tail erect and fanned, like a strutting turkey.  I'd never seen that behavior before in the field.  Always something new to learn....   

Skook

Similar to these images...

[Heartsblood]

Yeah it was nice to sit around and talk story. I enjoyed that as well Skook.

Wow. I guess I hadn't realized that you got a coupla males. Beautiful! I gotta see that sometime - Spruces struttin' around and such. Very cool!

[Ellensburg]

What a glorious thread.

[CamoDup]

went out today with no luck (all I got was soaked from rain) I have never really hunted them but though I'd give it a try since I still have a month till my deer and need to get out in the woods.  Im headed out in the morning to give it another go. Any tips or things I should look for?

[Heartsblood]

Had a good day shootin' in the Wenatchee National Forest today:

Found a good new spot where I busted up two coveys - one blue grouse, one ruffed. Chased around both groups and got several flushes outta each. Amazing how they seem to put cover between you and them on the flush. Good times!

[larryanderson3]

What a glorious thread.

I agree


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=47.555438,-121.857672

[Mo]

With the wet spring and late summer we've had this year I was pleasantly surprised to see as many Grouse as I did on my last outing.  I took my Single Six along while checking my game cam sets and looking for Bear sign, as it is a bit too thick good shotgunning, unless I just wanted to do some tree pruning.  It was pretty crunchy out so getting back into the cover they were holding in was tough and getting a clear shot was even more difficult.  Managed to make the shots I had count - all neck shot.  This one I thought I missed as he thundered skyward at the sound of the shot.  At about 6' in the air his motor stopped and fell back to earth DRT. 



There were plenty of Fajitas to go around.  Looks like it'll be a good year.

[Heartsblood]

  Nice!

Barbecued one of these birds the other night:


Just a little creole seasoning and nothing else. Little less than 4 minutes on the grill. Pulled off the still pink in the middle grill job! 

[Huntboy]

 

[PaulM]

We had a great day on opener weekend. We had some missed opportunities but hit a few as well. Great dog work.

[ldjbuff]

Got six grouse over 4 days while bow hunting. There were 15 in one tree but I had already limited out

[JKEEN33]

Having a pretty good season so far. One of the better seasons I have had for grouse. This was one days limit. I think I am up into the 20's now. A great dog sure seems to help a lot!