Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Ruffed Grouse

Ruffies here in late Season will be located in Aspen stands if it isn't too bad of weather (cold & deep snow). Preferably near conifer stands. Brush along creeks with Balsam & popple mixed in
and tangles / blowdowns help provide cover from predators.
Once it's deep snow time & deep cold look in the heaviest cover available near a food (catkins) source. Small cedar swamps,
creek bottoms with mix of brush & conifers, and a feed source.

Back years ago the Massachusetts season used to run till early January. We used to head to the western part of the state and found the birds near apple orchards,bordered by a mix of hard and soft woods.

We'd have an extra cup of coffee because it seemed we'd move more birds after 10AM than before that. We also got more flushes from trees than during early season. I think the birds were budding in both the apple and hardwood trees that time of the year. Maybe the good ground feed had frozen or dried up by then.

Birds rocketing out of trees were tough targets...they frequently managed to always put a tree trunk between you and them.It happened so often I began to suspect it was not coincidence. Those biddies knew what they were doing.

Funny thing is it seemed the birds got little pressure.Other than my small group I never bumped into another hunter out there.

Observations from late season Northern Pa Grouse:

If it is really cold they don't like to move around that much and thermal cover takes many forms. A thick stand of Pines can be a gold mine. Thick brushy cover with edges another. Even relatively open ground with lots of fallen logs to huddle under can sometimes hold more than one would believe.

They will eat just about anything that grows or buds. Have even been told they will eat small water creatures such as Salamanders, but have yet to discover it. Small rivulets of water coming out of a hillside that have something growing on the edges always deserve spending some time around. Especially in winter.

If they have not been hunted much in winter, they will often find each other and covey up. Hit the right spot and it can get exciting. Miss it and you will think there are no Birds around.

Days of warming after a cold snap can have them out stretching their legs and looking to fill up an empty crop. Kill a Bird, take the time to open their crop and take a look at what they have been eating can be productive.

Fresh tracks in the snow are an open book.

Research has some thinking our Pa Birds are being infected with some type of Avian virus. Gun your late winter Birds with an eye towards next year. They are survivors.