Grouse Hatch

[ICEMAN]

Ok you eastsiders.... need some info here.

When does the east side grouse hatch usually occur?  Is this wet bout of weather risking any grouse right now?

[buckfvr]

I dont think this wet will matter.....now if its like this in may and early june....could be a different story..  They can and do have second clutches, and that contributes to alot of the small birds when the season opens.  We try not to take any birds of the year......hard to tell some times but thats what we do.  That and target blues.  Last year was great, tons of birds still out there, this year should be great also.

[netcoyote]

Last year was great, tons of birds still out there, this year should be great also.

Last year was one of the best ever for me. I had almost given up after the last few years of hardly even seeing a bird. I like the idea of holding off on small birds, It's hard to do during a mad flush but the small ones are hardly worth the lead. Better to let 'em grow to chicken size.

[Stilly bay]

the cycle for ruff's should be heading into the upswing. Im not too worried about east side  birds, its the wet siders that are getting it rough these last few years.
I was doing some snooping last week and heard quite a few drummers, so there is still hope for the soggy side of the mountains.

[bobcat]

Grouse hunting has been terrible the last two seasons here on the westside, at least in SW Wa. I also heard a ruffed grouse drumming last weekend, so they are still around, just not in large numbers. All we can hope for is some drier, warmer weather a month from now.

[boneaddict]

About May Ice.   No, the weather right now isn't affecting them too much.  They haven't even started laying yet.  They should be started shortly.

[ICEMAN]

Thanks guys.

[netcoyote]

I also heard a ruffed grouse drumming last weekend, so they are still around, just not in large numbers.

I hear drumming in the spring on the west side every year. Every year I get optimistic that THIS might be the year for good west side grouse hunting. Come hunting season they always seem to disappear. 

Only west side grouse activity I've had was down in Mt Adams area.

[bobcat]

I also heard a ruffed grouse drumming last weekend, so they are still around, just not in large numbers.

I hear drumming in the spring on the west side every year. Every year I get optimistic that THIS might be the year for good west side grouse hunting. Come hunting season they always seem to disappear. 

Only west side grouse activity I've had was down in Mt Adams area.

I remember three years ago, grouse were just everywhere. Tons of them anywhere I went. Got limits a few times without even trying. Then like I said, the last two years I'm lucky to see one grouse all season.

[Stilly bay]

I personally subscribe to the theory that ruffed grouse are on a seven-10 year population cycle, where the population will increase and increase and then suddenly wane down to almost nothing.  I think we have been dealing with the low part of the cycle these last few years, throw these wet springs into the mix and it makes for low numbers.

I would be interested to know if any other Wet-siders keep an eye on grouse numbers and cycle years.

going off my own numbers I would bet the high end of the cycle was in 2004. that season I averaged 12 grouse flushed per day, that worked out 1.5 grouse for every mile. I think the previous high in the cycle was 1996 where I flushed 84 birds in three days of hard hunting, they were all young of the year birds still holding in family coveys and this in some prime cover on the east side of the mountains, but still 84 birds in three days was the mother load! and I was without a dog hunting deer in early archery season

 by 2007 the "cycle" was waning and I was averaging .5 grouse for every mile walked. 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 I wasn't able to hunt grouse to the level I was, but I bet they were all very low years as well.

hopefully if the cycle theory holds true, there should be a boom in the population in the next few years.

[bobcat]

Stillybay,

I'm not sure I believe in the "cycle" theory. What part of Washington do you hunt? Like I said, the area I hunt in SW Washington had very high numbers of grouse, both ruffed and blue, in 2009. And almost none to be found in 2010 and 2011.

I think the spring weather has more to do with grouse populations than anything else.

[bearpaw]

This weather has no effect, what matters is the weather in late may and early June. I have seen tiny chicks that could fly in the first week of June.

found this info with a google search:
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/bird/boum/all.html

Reproduction: Drumming defines territories and makes females aware of males' presence, so females visit male territories. They may visit more than one male territory, and males may fertilize more than one female. Male ruffed grouse produce a drumming sound by spreading their wings, rotating them forward, and then moving them back quickly. The air rushing into the momentary vacuum created produces the drumming sound. Males beat their wings up to 50 times in the 8 to 11 seconds it takes to complete a drumming sequence. Males do not assist with nest construction, incubation, or brood rearing [156]. Other breeding behaviors, vocalizations, and time budgets during the breeding season and other times of year are discussed by Rusch and others [156].

Reproductive timing: Drumming peaks in spring, typically early April in the southern portion of ruffed grouse range and late April or early May in the northern portion. Drumming typically occurs half an hour before to several hours after sunrise and briefly before sunset. During the spring peak in drumming, males may drum in the late morning and/or afternoon. Drumming is infrequent in midsummer, increases in fall, and is sporadic in winter.

Breeding occurs in spring and coincides with increased drumming. Mating generally occurs in April, from early April in Georgia to late April in Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Manitoba, and Alberta (Gullion 1984, Yoder personal communication, and Rusch personal observation cited in [156]). Females generally nest as yearlings [24,156].

Following mating, females take 3 to 7 days to build nests, which are bowl-like depressions on the ground that are lined with vegetation. In Minnesota, egg laying begins as early as 24 April and continues for 14 to 17 days (Maxson 1977 cited in [156]). Incubation begins after laying of the last egg and typically lasts 23 or 24 days [156]. In the Appalachian region, the average start of incubation was 1 May, ranging from 27 April to 8 May, with adult females initiating incubation an average of 3.5 days earlier than immature females [34]. During this period females spend 96% of their time on the nest (Maxson 1989 cited in [156]).

Median hatching dates of 1st nests were from 1 to 11 June in the northern portion of the range, 22 May in southeast Ohio and northeast Iowa, and 25 May in the southern Appalachians (Small and others 1996 cited in [156]). First-nest attempts on 2 sites and in 2 years in West Virginia ranged from 18 to 29 May [36]. Second-nest attempts are typically started in May (Archibald 1976 and Maxson 1977 cited in [24]). Median hatching date in northern Lower Michigan was 10 June for 1st nests and 1 July for renests [119]. Median hatching dates of 2nd nesting attempts in the southern Appalachians ranged from 26 June to 4 July.

Chicks are precocial. Within 2 to 3 hours of hatching they walk, feed themselves, and hide from predators. The brood leaves the nest within 24 hours of hatching, and chicks fly short distances within 5 to 7 days. Females brood chicks at night and during inclement weather for 3 weeks following hatching. During this period females also defend chicks against predators. Females stay with their broods until late August to early September, when the 12- to 15-week old chicks begin to disperse [156].

Reproductive output: Ruffed grouse raise one brood per season. If the first nest is lost early in the spring, they may renest [156]. In the southern Appalachians, 82% of hens nested (Haulton 1999 cited in [156]). In the Appalachian region, an average of 96% of females attempted to nest and 23% renested [34]. In West Virginia, 98% of females attempted to nest but only 1 of 41 females renested [36]. In the central and southern Appalachians, the ratio of first nests to renests was 18:1 [198]. In northwestern Wisconsin, all females attempted to nest and 60% renested [5]. Renesting rates were 56% in Wisconsin (Small and others 1996 cited in [156]), 8% in the southern Appalachians (Haulton 1999 cited in [156]), and 67% in Michigan, with 48% of yearlings and 100% of adult hens renesting (Larson 1998 cited in [156]). In the Appalachian region, modeling indicated that forest association influenced renest rate (see Plant associations used as habitat for details), and renesting was negatively associated with the average monthly minimum temperature in winter [34].

 Reviews report average clutch sizes of 7 [156] and 11.5 eggs [24] and ranges of 4 to 19 eggs [24,156]. Clutch sizes of 1st nests range from 9.5 (Haulton 1999 cited in [156]) to 12.7 eggs [119]; these are larger than 2nd-nest averages of 7.0 [5] to 7.5 eggs (Bump and others 1949 and Rusch personal observation cited in [156]). In the Appalachian region, average clutch size of 368 nests was 9.86 eggs; clutches were small in nests initiated late [34]. Adult and yearling clutch sizes did not differ in Wisconsin (Small and others 1996 cited in [156]), Michigan (Larson 1998 cited in [156]), Minnesota (Maxson 1974 cited in [156]), or the southern Appalachians (Haulton 1999 cited in [156]).

The sparse data available indicate that about 45% to 65% of nests produce at least one chick. In northern Lower Michigan, average annual production was 3.4 hatchling females/adult female, and fall recruitment was 1.0 juvenile female/adult female [119]. Mean lifetime reproductive success, calculated from data on 20 hens over a 1-year period in Wisconsin, was estimated at approximately 9.3 chicks. Sixty percent of these hens produced chicks that survived to leave the nest (Rusch personal observation cited in [156]). In the Appalachians, just under 70% of hens hatched at least one chick ([34], Haulton 1999 cited in [156]). Reports of nest success from several locations (see Table 2) show that generally more than half of eggs hatch, and only about 50% to 75% of nests produce at least one egg. Parasitism of ruffed grouse nests by ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) and wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) has been documented, although it is uncommon [156].

[Stilly bay]

thats a great chunk of info.
 but did you notice it mainly pertains to east coast and midwestern areas where ruffed grouse are more common and way more prolific? 
I believe that most studies overlook western grouse which dwell in an environment different from mid west and east coast birds. while studies on birds in the puget trough and olympic peninsula are also non existent in comparison, so getting hard facts that pertain to our birds is very difficult.

[bearpaw]

thats a great chunk of info.
 but did you notice it mainly pertains to east coast and midwestern areas where ruffed grouse are more common and way more prolific? 
I believe that most studies overlook western grouse which dwell in an environment different from mid west and east coast birds. while studies on birds in the puget trough and olympic peninsula are also non existent in comparison, so getting hard facts that pertain to our birds is very difficult.

Grouse are actually very abundant in many arreas of Washington and many other western states, but people take them for granted, grouse have not recieved the attention that most other species have recieved. I think that in eastern states the number of huntable species is far fewer so grouse get more attention. For example the ruffed grouse is the state bird of Pennsylvania.

[Stilly bay]

thats a great chunk of info.
 but did you notice it mainly pertains to east coast and midwestern areas where ruffed grouse are more common and way more prolific? 
I believe that most studies overlook western grouse which dwell in an environment different from mid west and east coast birds. while studies on birds in the puget trough and olympic peninsula are also non existent in comparison, so getting hard facts that pertain to our birds is very difficult.

Grouse are actually very abundant in many arreas of Washington and many other western states, but people take them for granted, grouse have not recieved the attention that most other species have recieved. I think that in eastern states the number of huntable species is far fewer so grouse get more attention. For example the ruffed grouse is the state bird of Pennsylvania.

I agree 100% I read a few years ago that washington was considered #9 out 10 for the best grouse hunting states in america. the eastern states with higher numbers have timber companies that actually manage for hardwoods, deciduous trees and Aspens all of which grouse primarily feed on. western washington its mainly evergreens and the grouse IMO are way more spread out than in other areas.

[JakeLand]

don't know much about the cycle theory except for what i just read here. But the last couple weeks i have seen a double handfull and every year is different sometimes the swamps are better and some years the clumps and vinemaple slide areas are better. You just got scout alot. these i am talking about are wet side ruffs

[Pathfinder101]

Not so sure about the "cycle theory" either.  I know here in the Blues where I have lived the last 11 years it has been pretty cut-and-dried.  If it's a wet, cold spring, there won't be many birds in the fall.  Last spring was terribly wet and cold here until well into June.  The birds down here were almost non-existent.  We didn't kill a single one (killed a few up near Colville).  Granted, our grouse hunting is never great here (not like up north anyway), but our best years have always been when spring has been warm.  Maybe I'm off-base here and a biologist can set me straight, but that's what I have noticed...

[KFhunter]

looking good so far this year!
 
nice hot early spring, my hopes are up for a stellar grouse hunting year.   I didn't get too many birds in front of my dog last couple years

[ICEMAN]

Excellent!

[MR5x5]

Eggs are down.  Found several nests in Tonasket over the weekend.  Oddly, they all had 5 eggs.

[fethrduster]

This little bout of wet weather hopefully won't hurt since it's still fairly warm.  It might even help food-wise, as long as it doesn't last too long.  So far, it's been a dry spring, and much, much better than last year, knock on wood. 

[ICEMAN]

Keeping my fingers crossed, thanks for the update.

[Dhoey07]

I'm glad we got all that rain out early, It was the rainiest March ever here in spokane!  So hopefully it's gone and done so bring on the nice weather!