Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Ruffed grouse survival

Hey all,
The younger ruffed grouse have survived through the brunt of winter, in decent numbers. Moreso than the past few years. I think this fall, well see better numbers.

Hard time though, no high bush cranberry or rosehip left. Rarely will you even find a track on the ground. They're only feeding/moving at the dimmest first light or last light. And hiding from predators most of midday.

Crops full of nothing but quaking aspen buds. They're real spooky even by 5pm. Open sights a no-go. Only when your eyes or best pair of binocs or rimfire scope can barely pick them up, are they finally with full crops and at a state of relaxation for hunter to get a shot.

Nice breasts

The bird population has been so low the last few years I just refuse to shoot them.

They did seem to have a bounce back out at farewell just a bit last fall and if it continues may shoot a few this fall.

I haven't shot on o five years because of the low population, but they may do better this year with improved snow conditions and hopefully a nice spring.

I've not shot one in closer to 20 years.

I've only seen a grand total of 2 in the last 20 years.

Stupid predators have wiped all of ours out and the state/gov seems to be more concerned with the protecting the predators than anything else.

Lotta boreal owls around this year. Smart little buggers and they take on anything big or a small, day or night. Since they're more compact, they have less mass to maintain so can live off the tiniest shrew.

They're far more agile after woodland birds than larger birds of prey.


They're so stealthy, they infiltrate a group of ruffed grouse and just hang out nearby. So the dim light, I've actually glassed a boreal owl that was perched about 6 feet from a half dozen ruffed grouse.

Nobody, or no policy will change how successful the boreals are on small game.

Wow! That is very cool. Would love to see that dynamic. I have shot them at all four corners plus of their range and find them an incredible game bird.

There were way more Boreal owls this fall than I've ever seen. Following the sharptails around.

Maybe in coming years the grouse numbers of all kinds will increase and we can feel good about hunting em again.

We have a lot of ptarmigan around the house this winter. We also hear Boreal owls most evenings as well. Obviously not a coincidence!

Our grouse season opens later than most of the state [8/25 vs 8/10] but the grouse still haven't dispersed and sit in coveys picking gravel in early morning. We have a certain ethnic group that patrols the road at dawn and ground sluices the entire litter. I go back where you have to work a for birds in later fall and that eliminates that bunch of [bleep].

На здоровье!

Or the other ones? 😏

nice

I get along with the former Russians fine generally. But they have no ethics on game and could care less. They will wonder where it all went one day. They need to learn and or be taught.

I traveled twice to Manley last summer- lots of spruce grouse coveys along the Elliot both times. Very few grouse here on the Kenai- our cold wet spring likely did a number on the nesting success. I didn't go out at all for them, and haven't seen any around the house even.

Some years ago F&G introduced Ruffies here on the Kenai, from Valley or Interior stock. I think I've only seen one since.

We have at least 3 large resident owls in the neighborhood- what kind I don't know - I hear them hooting back and forth. I think Great Grey or Horned - night hooters.. Did see a Northern Hawk Owl a few days ago while walking the dog. Had to look it up...

Another edit. Listened to owl hoots. Mostly what I hear is the Horned Owl - but occaisionally the Great Grey too. So now I know...

The Yard Hare(s) better watch out!

Las,
Them great horned owls are a big fkn bird! One of them flew off with a small dog into the woods coupla years back. Was in the news paper.

Years ago during the snowshoe hare boom, a great horned owl got clipped by a car, chasing a hare cross the road. I stopped to check on him, I was 80-100 yards behind the car that hit him. Another car stopped behind me. One of the owl's pupils were bigger than the other. Was dazed for a bit tipsy, bu still upright.

I was trying to get him off the road so he wouldn't get run over again. Sat with him a bit, after few minutes threw my carhart jacket over him and wrapped him up. Holy fk, he started rattling his beak, and it was right near my fkn neck while I carried him. He never bit me. He relaxed a bit over time, a really kind bird, not all wild and frantic like a damn race husky.

Built him a covered perch(keep the cold rain off him) and he hung around the dog lot for a while but couldn't fly. One night during a heavy fog, he left the dog lot. But stayed around the local area. Anyhow, real kind bird. Once he realized I was helping him, no aggression whatsoever.

Called a coupla bird rescuers, nobody was interested in picking him up. Maybe too far away, I dunno?

Sometimes, he'd get tired of me checking on him, and turn his head better than 180 degrees.

If I want to blast spruce grouse, I head for the Elliot between the Minto turnoff and Manley for the first few hours of the day. I usually will see 30+ along that stretch.

Ruffed? They're around. I usually get 4-5 a year goofing off around Fairbanks. I never really target them. Cleary Summit and surrounding creek bottoms have a fair number. Anywhere there's aspens.

I don't believe it made the newspaper, but many years back when we lived in Salcha, a big owl attempted to make off with our Mini Daschund one late February evening. Fortunately for him, our other dog, a Lab/Dalmatian mix, spotted the owl coming in and hit it at the same time it hit the Mini. The owl took off up into the trees and Ranger had himself an owl feather. The little guy ended up with a gash on his back, but avoided being owl chow thanks to his buddy. We used to hear those owls hooting all night long usually starting sometime in February.

Interesting on the spruce. They vary enough that some years we just don't shoot em. Just makes no sense when you saw 20 or so in an area and then see 2. Pretty common variances too for where we are.

Ruffs. I"ve not seen or shot a ruffed grouse around Delta in years. Couldn't make myself shoot one if I did until I see numbers back where they are supposed to be again.

Its kind of like quail to me. They can vary a lot in population. When its a good cycle we enjoy them. When its not we leave em alone.
After all its not like any of us NEED a grouse to survive on.