Michigan - No hurry: Future prospects for grouse and woodcock hunting look good

Steve Griffin The weather was too hot, the pup too young, so I stayed home. I'll wait. A week ago, Friday, September 15, instead of crashing through thick brush in pursuit of ruffed grouse, I leafed through the annual grouse and woodcock report and forecast from the DNR's Wildlife Division. A few days later, I swapped emails with grouse-avid Al Stewart, the DNR's upland gamebird specialist. What I read in both cases made me glad for my pup's youth. Hunting for grouse is pretty good and likely to get better: the bird population continues to build toward a 10-year cycle's high point, due about 2020. And although woodcock fortunes have fallen across the decades, those who hunt them in good cover still flush them at about the same rates as in the past. This year? "Grouse hunting has been good," Stewart reported a few days into the season, with his contacts reporting a few more flushes than in recent early seasons.

But, "It has been wicked hot, so finding birds is being impacted by the weather. If a dog is panting through his mouth, he is not pulling that fine bird scent through his nose." Stewart said he'd been adapting by hunting early in the day, near creeks and other water sources. Stewart expects hunters to have similar woodcock flush rates this year as last year, in the season that opens today, and maybe even a few more. Read the rest of the MidlandDailyNews article

Wisconsin New-hunter mentor program offered in Three Lakes - RGS Led

Anyone interested in learning to bird hunt can do so free of charge next month. The local chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) is offering a new-hunter mentor program Aug. 19-20 in Three Lakes. RGS a national organization of grouse and woodcock hunters which supports scientific conservation and management efforts to ensure the future of the species. “Our new-hunter mentor program offers those interested in bird hunting in the Northwoods a chance to learn this exciting activity directly from experienced, certified mentors,” said Dan Anderson, chairman of the local Chain O’ Lakes RGS chapter.  “The national organization has a successful program that we use as an outline, and locals with many years of experience hunting our area, including use of trained hunting dogs, teach the course.” The course is open to participants over age 12 and will consist of two half-days Aug. 19-20.  Experience gained in this program can be applied to hunting most other species. Topics will include:

• Gun safety, marksmanship and shooting
• Dog handling
• Field and mapping skills
• Habitat awareness

The finale will be a hunt this fall with an experienced, certified grouse hunting mentor. See the full Star Journal article for registration and more details

Woodcock Banding Video - Michigan

The Woodcock portion starts @ 11:38 Woodcock banding in Michigan

GROUSE HUNTING CLINIC: Greenville, South Carolina - February 8, 2015

GROUSE HUNTING CLINIC: Greenville, South Carolina
February 8, 2015; 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Cabelas store in Greenville, SC

Attend this Ruffed Grouse Hunting Clinic with seminars presented by Jeff Johnson and Will Mooney. Jeff will discuss grouse hunting and forest revision policies in our southern mountains, and Will is going to make a presentation on how to hunt grouse in the Midwest and will discuss things like prepping your bird dog for wolf and porcupine encounters as one example.

For more information, contact:
Rob Lanning: rob.lanning@gmail.com; 864-419-4809
Or RGS & AWS Regional Director Dave Hansroth: daveh@ruffedgrousesociety.org; 412-303-1405 (cell); 240-912-9294 (office)

Maine Grouse Hunting at Grants Kennebago Camps 2014 - Video - Bird Dogs Afield

Bird Dogs Afield visits Maine's Grants Kennebago Camps for a ruffed grouse and woodcock hunt.

How to Shoot a Ruffed Grouse - Video - Bird Dogs Afield

Cal Robinson, grouse guide, explains how to shoot a ruffed grouse. Presented by Bird Dogs Afield.

FOLLOW THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK MIGRATION LIVE!

Cutting-Edge Satellite Research: The GoogleEarth® maps below show the migratory locations of American woodcock outfitted with satellite transmitters (PTTs) as part of cutting-edge research conducted by the USGS Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, USGS Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and the USFWS.

These solar-powered PTTs are small enough to fit on a woodcock’s back during migration and powerful enough to transmit multiple locations to the ARGOS satellite network every two days (10 hours on, 48 hours off). The calendar can be used to see where woodcock were on a given date. The points can be dragged along the migration path to see the relative locations of other woodcock on that date.

Other cooperators providing assistance and funding are the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS and AWS), Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, The Glassen Foundation, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the University of Arkansas, and Woodcock Limited.

Learning Essential Information About Woodcock:  

See the Live Maps and more information about the American Woodcock