Grouse News

Ann's 2009 Season observations, comments on the 2010 season, and some hunting tips::

Seems like just a short while ago we were putting away our hunting clothes our grouse habitat maps and guns and settling in for the winter.  Now we are just a short time away from the start of the 2010 Grouse season.
Up north here we have been busy developing new “In the Field Grouse Habitat Maps”  and also some other products that will become available after the first of the year.  It seems like we are always busy with one project or another.


Last year's season found us with horrible weather and jumpy birds from the start.  Even though the 2009 drumming counts were encouraging the results were average when the season started and continued that way through most of the hunting season.  Between Skip and I we logged over 85 hunts and saw just about every type of weather in 8 weeks of nonstop hunting. 
What I found interesting was how the juvenile grouse did not act like juveniles.  In some of the very first coveys I hunted in the beginning of the season the juveniles acted like seasoned adults rocketing to the next county when pressured and I did not find one young bird during the season that did not act like this.  From jumpy birds to wet weather and wind 2009 was a tough hunting year.  I always enjoy a challenge but I had to start carrying with me two sets of boots, extra pants, socks and basically an extra set of dry clothes for each hunt.

 
One of the interesting signs I saw last season were mink droppings near where I was finding grouse droppings.  Then there were the additional hawks and influx of owls.  The increase in owls even made a headline story for the evening news in Duluth, MN.  This past winter I did not see near as many birds in the tree tops eating Aspen buds and those we did see seemed to wait to come out when it started tio get darker in the evening. 

One of the last hunts I had in November was really interesting.  It had gotten warm early and we had a flurry of activity and then it was too warm.  We broke for lunch and even after lunch it was still very warm.  The temps finally came down around 4:00p.m. and still what birds we found were held up in the tags along the creeks and very near the Aspen.   So finally the hunt was over and it was now dusk and we were headed back to our Camp taking the back roads to drop off the dogs before heading into town.  Just at dusk in the shadows along the roads I could not believe how many grouse were coming out.  Not just 4-5 but in 20 minutes we probably saw over 12 birds, getting their evening meal just as it was turning dark.  This was the time of dusk when you did need your headlights.  Then later that night I heard the owls.  

   
Our predators are up and I honestly believe the cycle was headed down last year and in some places may have started two years ago.  I have seen a noticeable decline in snowshoe hares over the last two years.  Bobcat numbers are up. I talked to some of the hunters this past winter and they said they took some nice cats.  I also just saw another big cat the other night and tonight a huge mink.

 
Drumming was down this spring and I did see some broods but as of right now, and after talking to a lot of loggers, foresters etc., everyone is seeing a lot of singles.  At least where I am at I have seen average brood size of 3-4 some areas of Wisconsin could be different.


This summer up north we had in late June, July, and August above average rainfall which is causing some of the aspen to be affected by a fungus and has turned a lot of the leaves brown.   A few of our months we were 200- 300% above our normal rainfall average.  We have already had a hard killing frost (as of 9/6/10) and they are calling for another frost tonight.  We have had some big storms and even a tornado that didn’t miss our area by much but did hit the Turtle Flambeau Flowage and some campers had to be evacuated off the islands where the trees flattened campsites.


As the cycle heads down it is really important to not hunt cuts that are too old 17 -20 year old cuts  fall into that category.You will want to concentrate on cuts with an excellent canopy and cleaner floor.  A poor canopy allows birds of prey to hunt grouse and also allows the floor of the cut to become weedy.  As the number of grouse decline the birds will be found in good quality habitat and not in marginal habitat.   When you have a lot of birds the birds will utilize marginal habitat as well as good quality habitat, but not as the numbers decline.  When the cycle goes down you need to concentrate on the quality of the habitat.


A word of caution about ATV trails and snowmobile trails.  Be careful about hunting some of these areas due to the fact that many trails cross private lands and also some state trails do not allow hunting on these trails and you can be ticketed.  Best to check with the various counties before you start hunting in these areas.  A couple of guys I know from North Carolina two years back got a ticket for hunting on snowmobile trails.


We have provided for you a link to a PDF file that we thought you might like to download for Wiscosnin.  It is a listing of veteranians by counties and their phone numbers and addresses:   We realize when you are traveling it might be nice to have this in a folder in case of emergencies.  We hope you don’t need it but if you do at least you have a listing that you can go through to find help. 2010 Vet Listing for WI


Overall I hope everyone has an enjoyable season and the weather gives us some beautiful fall days when the leaves are falling and the sun is shining and we are enjoying watching our dogs work and we are fortunate enough to see these beautiful birds rocket up and out of the cover for the next county.


Have a safe and productive Hunting season and give us a call if you have any questions or need any help before and when you are up here in the beautiful Northwoods of Wisconsin.

 

2009 WI DNR Drumming Survey: 

Every year since 2003 we have been posting the WI DNR Spring Ruffeded Grouse Drumming Survey data collected at the individual route level for selected counties.

A composite report is posted on the WI DNR website as a PDF document and can be read by clicking here. If you open the report and scroll down towards the bottom you will see a map of WI divided into regions. Within each region are the individual counties and the starting points for each of the survey routes (transects) as numbered in our spreadsheet.

Posted below is the 2003 - 2010 Drumming Counts, by survey route (transect), for selected WI Counties:

Highligted in yellow is the 2010 data:

*Overall Census Conditions1 = Excellent 2 = Good 3 = Fair
 **Overall Noise: 1 = Heavy  2 = Moderate 3 = Light 4 = None

Transect Number County Overall Census Conditions* Overall Noise** Total # of Drums Heard Year
2-1 ASHLAND 2 4 33 2003
2-1 ASHLAND 1 3 45 2004
2-1 ASHLAND 1 4 38 2005
2-1 ASHLAND 1 4 46 2006
2-1 ASHLAND NR NR NR 2007
2-1 ASHLAND NR NR NR 2008
2-1 ASHLAND NR NR 26 2009
2-1 ASHLAND 1 3 22 2010
2-2 ASHLAND 1 4 20 2003
2-2 ASHLAND 1 3 6 2004
2-2 ASHLAND 3 2 7 2005
2-2 ASHLAND 1 3 18 2006
2-2 ASHLAND 2 2 5 2007
2-2 ASHLAND 1 3 15 2008
2-2 ASHLAND NR NR 10 2009
2-2 ASHLAND 1 3 18 2010
4-2 BAYFIELD NR NR 3 2003
4-2 BAYFIELD 2 3 3 2004
4-2 BAYFIELD 2 4 1 2005
4-2 BAYFIELD 3 2 2 2006
4-2 BAYFIELD 2 2 6 2007
4-2 BAYFIELD 2 3 8 2008
4-2 BAYFIELD NR NR 10 2009
4-2 BAYFIELD 1 3 10 2010
4-3 BAYFIELD 1 4 5 2003
4-3 BAYFIELD 1 3 15 2004
4-3 BAYFIELD 2 4 0 2005
4-3 BAYFIELD 2 3 8 2006
4-3 BAYFIELD 1 4 22 2007
4-3 BAYFIELD 1 3 17 2008
4-3 BAYFIELD NR NR 16 2009
4-3 BAYFIELD 1 4 31 2010
4-4 BAYFIELD NR NR 23 2003
4-4 BAYFIELD 2 4 5 2004
4-4 BAYFIELD NR NR NR 2005
4-4 BAYFIELD 2 4 22 2006
4-4 BAYFIELD 1 4 35 2007
4-4 BAYFIELD 1 3 61 2008
4-4 BAYFIELD NR NR 30 2009
4-4 BAYFIELD 1 4 37 2010
3-1 BARRON . . 14 2003
3-1 BARRON 2 3 7 2004
3-1 BARRON 1 3 10 2005
3-1 BARRON 3 3 0 2006
3-1 BARRON 1 3 6 2007
3-1 BARRON 2 3 8 2008
3-1 BARRON NR NR 3 2009
3-1 BARRON 1 3 8 2010
3-2 BARRON 2 3 24 2003
3-2 BARRON 2 3 13 2004
3-2 BARRON 2 3 16 2005
3-2 BARRON 1 3 16 2006
3-2 BARRON 2 3 18 2007
3-2 BARRON 2 3 19 2008
3-2 BARRON NR NR 15 2009
3-2 BARRON 1 3 17 2010
7-1 BURNETT 2 3 39 2003
7-1 BURNETT 1 3 36 2004
7-1 BURNETT 1 3 29 2005
7-1 BURNETT 2 2 32 2006
7-1 BURNETT 2 2 30 2007
7-1 BURNETT 1 3 41 2008
7-1 BURNETT NR NR 39 2009
7-1 BURNETT 1 3 36 2010
7-2 BURNETT 1 3 6 2003
7-2 BURNETT 3 3 4 2004
7-2 BURNETT 3 3 1 2005
7-2 BURNETT 2 2 3 2006
7-2 BURNETT 2 3 3 2007
7-2 BURNETT 1 3 10 2008
7-2 BURNETT NR NR 7 2009
7-2 BURNETT 1 3 12 2010
9-1 CHIPPEWA 1 4 2 2003
9-1 CHIPPEWA 1 3 20 2004
9-1 CHIPPEWA 1 3 14 2005
9-1 CHIPPEWA 1 3 22 2006
9-1 CHIPPEWA 1 3 20 2007
9-1 CHIPPEWA 1 3 30 2008
9-1 CHIPPEWA NR n 31 2009
9-1 CHIPPEWA 2 3 15 2010
9-2 CHIPPEWA 2 2 17 2003
9-2 CHIPPEWA 3 3 10 2004
9-2 CHIPPEWA 3 3 12 2005
9-2 CHIPPEWA 2 3 7 2006
9-2 CHIPPEWA 1 3 10 2007
9-2 CHIPPEWA 1 3 15 2008
9-2 CHIPPEWA NR n 17 2009
9-2 CHIPPEWA 2 3 22 2010
9-3 CHIPPEWA 3 2 2 2003
9-3 CHIPPEWA 3 2 0 2004
9-3 CHIPPEWA 3 3 1 2005
9-3 CHIPPEWA NR 3 0 2006
9-3 CHIPPEWA 1 3 2 2007
9-3 CHIPPEWA 1 3 2 2008
9-3 CHIPPEWA NR n 4 2009
9-3 CHIPPEWA 2 3 0 2010
10-1 CLARK 1 3 12 2003
10-1 CLARK 1 3 13 2004
10-1 CLARK 1 3 15 2005
10-1 CLARK 1 3 6 2006
10-1 CLARK 1 3 5 2007
10-1 CLARK 1 3 19 2008
10-1 CLARK NR NR 11 2009
10-1 CLARK 1 3 19 2010
10-2 CLARK 1 2 15 2003
10-2 CLARK 2 3 7 2004
10-2 CLARK 1 3 16 2005
10-2 CLARK 2 3 18 2006
10-2 CLARK 1 3 20 2007
10-2 CLARK NR NR 22 2008
10-2 CLARK NR NR 5 2009
10-2 CLARK 2 2 18 2010
19-1 FLORENCE 1 3 8 2003
19-1 FLORENCE 2 3 2 2004
19-1 FLORENCE 1 4 1 2005
19-1 FLORENCE 3 3 3 2006
19-1 FLORENCE NR NR NR 2007
19-1 FLORENCE 2 3 16 2008
19-1 FLORENCE NR NR 12 2009
19-1 FLORENCE 1 4 2 2010
21-1 FOREST 1 3 9 2003
21-1 FOREST 2 2 5 2004
21-1 FOREST 5 2005
21-1 FOREST 1 4 3 2006
21-1 FOREST NR NR NR 2007
21-1 FOREST 1 3 17 2008
21-1 FOREST NR NR 10 2009
21-1 FOREST 1 4 0 2010
21-2 FOREST 1 3 16 2003
21-2 FOREST 1 4 9 2004
21-2 FOREST 1 4 17 2005
21-2 FOREST 2 2 6 2006
21-2 FOREST 1 4 19 2007
21-2 FOREST 1 4 20 2008
21-2 FOREST NR NR 10 2009
21-2 FOREST 1 4 22 2010
21-3 FOREST 1 3 8 2003
21-3 FOREST 1 3 5 2004
21-3 FOREST 1 3 11 2005
21-3 FOREST 1 3 8 2006
21-3 FOREST 1 3 6 2006
21-3 FOREST 2 2 18 2008
21-3 FOREST NR NR 12 2009
21-3 FOREST 1 2 21 2010
27-1 JACKSON 1 3 4 2003
27-1 JACKSON 1 3 14 2004
27-1 JACKSON 1 4 13 2005
27-1 JACKSON 3 NR 6 2006
27-1 JACKSON 3 NR 16 2007
27-1 JACKSON 1 3 19 2008
27-1 JACKSON NR NR 12 2009
27- JACKSON 1 3 13 2010
34-1 LANGLADE 2 3 10 2003
34-1 LANGLADE 1 4 3 2004
34-1 LANGLADE 2 3 4 2005
34-1 LANGLADE 3 3 19 2006
34-1 LANGLADE 2 3 24 2007
34-1 LANGLADE 1 4 27 2008
34-1 LANGLADE NR NR 18 2009
34-1 LANGLADE 1 4 21 2010
34-2 LANGLADE 2 3 12 2003
34-2 LANGLADE 2 3 10 2004
34-2 LANGLADE 2 3 8 2005
34-2 LANGLADE NR NR 6 2006
34-2 LANGLADE 2 3 10 2007
34-2 LANGLADE 1 3 8 2008
34-2 LANGLADE NR NR 7 2009
34-2 LANGLADE 2 3 9 2010
35-1 LINCOLN 1 3 51 2003
35-1 LINCOLN 1 3 39 2004
35-1 LINCOLN 3 2 17 2005
35-1 LINCOLN 2 2 48 2006
35-1 LINCOLN 2 3 55 2007
35-1 LINCOLN 2 3 53 2008
35-1 LINCOLN NR NR 50 2009
35-1 LINCOLN 2 3 42 2010
35-2 LINCOLN 2 2 10 2003
35-2 LINCOLN 1 4 7 2004
35-2 LINCOLN 2 3 5 2005
35-2 LINCOLN 2 3 14 2006
35-2 LINCOLN 3 3 2 2007
35-2 LINCOLN 1 4 11 2008
35-2 LINCOLN NR NR 18 2009
35-2 LINCOLN 1 3 15 2010
37-1 MARATHON 2 2 16 2003
37-1 MARATHON 3 2 8 2004
37-1 MARATHON 2 2 23 2005
37-1 MARATHON 2 2 0 2006
37-1 MARATHON 2 3 13 2007
37-1 MARATHON 1 3 34 2008
37-1 MARATHON NR NR 37 2009
37-1 MARATHON 2 3 22 2010
37-2 MARATHON 1 3 4 2003
37-2 MARATHON 2 3 15 2004
37-2 MARATHON 1 3 9 2005
37-2 MARATHON 2 2 24 2006
37-2 MARATHON 2 2 4 2007
37-2 MARATHON 1 3 12 2008
37-2 MARATHON NR NR 13 2009
37-2 MARATHON 1 3 8 2010
37-3 MARATHON 2 3 2 2003
37-3 MARATHON 1 3 18 2004
37-3 MARATHON 1 3 20 2005
37-3 MARATHON 3 3 5 2006
37-3 MARATHON 1 2 42 2007
37-3 MARATHON 1 3 21 2008
37-3 MARATHON NR NR 13 2009
37-3 MARATHON 1 3 12 2010
37-4 MARATHON NR 3 5 2003
37-4 MARATHON NR 1 5 2004
37-4 MARATHON 2 2 11 2005
37-4 MARATHON 1 3 6 2006
37-4 MARATHON 1 3 5 2007
37-4 MARATHON 2 3 4 2008
37-4 MARATHON NR NR 16 2009
37-4 MARATHON 2 3 5 2010
38-1 MARINETTE 1 3 6 2003
38-1 MARINETTE 1 3 6 2004
38-1 MARINETTE 2 3 1 2005
38-1 MARINETTE 1 3 14 2006
38-1 MARINETTE 1 3 4 2007
38-1 MARINETTE 1 3 15 2008
38-1 MARINETTE NR NR 16 2009
38-1 MARINETTE 1 4 12 2010
38-2 MARINETTE 1 3 15 2003
38-2 MARINETTE NR NR 7 2004
38-2 MARINETTE 1 3 6 2005
38-2 MARINETTE 2 3 5 2006
38-2 MARINETTE 2 2 4 2007
38-2 MARINETTE 1 3 19 2008
38-2 MARINETTE NR NR 21 2009
38-2 MARINETTE 1 3 16 2010
38-3 MARINETTE 1 4 5 2003
38-3 MARINETTE 1 3 3 2004
38-3 MARINETTE 1 3 1 2005
38-3 MARINETTE 2 3 4 2006
38-3 MARINETTE 1 3 7 2007
38-3 MARINETTE 1 3 10 2008
38-3 MARINETTE NR NR 13 2009
38-3 MARINETTE 2 4 9 2010
43-1 OCONTO 1 3 3 2003
43-1 OCONTO NR NR 8 2004
43-1 OCONTO 2 3 6 2005
43-1 OCONTO 2 NR 1 2006
43-1 OCONTO 2 2 2 2007
43-1 OCONTO 2 2 6 2008
43-1 OCONTO NR NR 3 2009
43-1 OCONTO 3 3 0 2010
43-2 OCONTO NR 3 7 2003
43-2 OCONTO 1 3 4 2004
43-2 OCONTO 2 3 0 2005
43-2 OCONTO NR 3 3 2006
43-2 OCONTO NR NR NR 2007
43-2 OCONTO 2 2 5 2008
43-2 OCONTO NR NR 5 2009
43-2 OCONTO 3 2 2 2010
44-1 ONEIDA 1 2 6 2003
44-1 ONEIDA 3 2 4 2004
44-1 ONEIDA 2 2 6 2005
44-1 ONEIDA NR NR NR 2006
44-1 ONEIDA 2 2 2 2007
44-1 ONEIDA 1 3 8 2008
44-1 ONEIDA 1 3 2009
44-1 ONEIDA 1 3 2 2010
44-2 ONEIDA 2 3 6 2003
44-2 ONEIDA 2 2 5 2004
44-2 ONEIDA 3 3 4 2005
44-2 ONEIDA NR NR NR 2006
44-2 ONEIDA 2 2 6 2007
44-2 ONEIDA 2 3 3 2008
44-2 ONEIDA NR NR 6 2009
44-2 ONEIDA 2 3 4 2010
51-1 PRICE 1 3 13 2003
51-1 PRICE 1 3 10 2004
51-1 PRICE 2 3 5 2005
51-1 PRICE 1 3 20 2006
51-1 PRICE 2 2 53 2007
51-1 PRICE 2 2 15 2008
51-1 PRICE NR NR 18 2009
51-1 PRICE 1 3 16 2010
51-2 PRICE 1 3 12 2003
51-2 PRICE 2 3 15 2004
51-2 PRICE 1 3 10 2005
51-2 PRICE 1 3 10 2006
51-2 PRICE 1 4 20 2007
51-2 PRICE 1 3 17 2008
51-2 PRICE NR NR 22 2009
51-2 PRICE 1 4 23 2010
51-3 PRICE 1 3 49 2003
51-3 PRICE 2 3 32 2004
51-3 PRICE 1 4 30 2005
51-3 PRICE 2 3 30 2006
51-3 PRICE 2 3 23 2007
51-3 PRICE 1 2 38 2008
51-3 PRICE NR NR 39 2009
51-3 PRICE 1 3 34 2010
51-4 PRICE 1 3 22 2003
51-4 PRICE 2 3 26 2004
51-4 PRICE 3 1 2 2005
51-4 PRICE 2 3 16 2006
51-4 PRICE 2 3 11 2007
51-4 PRICE 3 2 23 2008
51-4 PRICE NR NR 27 2009
51-4 PRICE 1 3 34 2010
55-1 RUSK 2 2 8 2003
55-1 RUSK 1 3 12 2004
55-1 RUSK 1 3 8 2005
55-1 RUSK 3 3 14 2006
55-1 RUSK 1 3 15 2007
55-1 RUSK 2 2 9 2008
55-1 RUSK NR NR 11 2009
55-1 RUSK 2 3 7 2010
55-2 RUSK 1 3 15 2003
55-2 RUSK 2 4 10 2004
55-2 RUSK 2 3 10 2005
55-2 RUSK 2 3 11 2006
55-2 RUSK 2 2 11 2007
55-2 RUSK NR NR 33 2009
55-2 RUSK 1 3 26 2010
58-1 SAWYER 1 3 12 2003
58-1 SAWYER 3 2 6 2004
58-1 SAWYER 2 3 8 2005
58-1 SAWYER 2 3 10 2006
58-1 SAWYER 1 3 14 2007
58-1 SAWYER NR 3 11 2008
58-1 SAWYER NR NR 14 2009
58-1 SAWYER 1 4 22 2010
58-2 SAWYER 2 3 13 2003
58-2 SAWYER 2 3 11 2004
58-2 SAWYER 1 3 8 2005
58-2 SAWYER 1 3 8 2006
58-2 SAWYER 1 3 18 2007
58-2 SAWYER 2 3 21 2008
58-2 SAWYER NR NR 14 2009
58-2 SAWYER 3 2 11 2010
61-1 TAYLOR 2 2 7 2003
61-1 TAYLOR 1 3 6 2004
61-1 TAYLOR 2 3 7 2005
61-1 TAYLOR 2 2 6 2006
61-1 TAYLOR 2 2 8 2007
61-1 TAYLOR 1 3 15 2008
61-1 TAYLOR NR NR 36 2009
61-1 TAYLOR 1 3 23 2010
61-2 TAYLOR 1 3 14 2003
61-2 TAYLOR NR NR 12 2004
61-2 TAYLOR 1 3 12 2005
61-2 TAYLOR 2 3 11 2006
61-2 TAYLOR 2 2 9 2007
61-2 TAYLOR 1 1 15 2008
61-2 TAYLOR NR NR 42 2009
61-2 TAYLOR 3 2 30 2010
64-1 VILAS 1 2 19 2003
64-1 VILAS 2 2 4 2004
64-1 VILAS 2 2 5 2005
64-1 VILAS 2 3 17 2006
64-1 VILAS NR NR NR 2007
64-1 VILAS 2 2 12 2008
64-1 VILAS NR NR 14 2009
64-1 VILAS 1 3 17 2010
64-2 VILAS 1 2 4 2003
64-2 VILAS 1 3 8 2004
64-2 VILAS 1 3 7 2005
64-2 VILAS 1 3 9 2006
64-2 VILAS NR NR NR 2007
64-2 VILAS 1 4 16 2008
64-2 VILAS NR NR 10 2009
64-2 VILAS 1 3 18 2010
64-3 VILAS 1 4 11 2003
64-3 VILAS 1 3 15 2004
64-3 VILAS 1 3 13 2005
64-3 VILAS 1 3 18 2006
64-3 VILAS 1 3 19 2007
64-3 VILAS 3 3 5 2008
64-3 VILAS 3 2 2 2010
66-1 WASHBURN 1 3 2 2003
66-1 WASHBURN 1 3 4 2004
66-1 WASHBURN 3 2 2 2005
66-1 WASHBURN 3 4 5 2006
66-1 WASHBURN 1 3 16 2007
66-1 WASHBURN 2 3 8 2008
66-1 WASHBURN NR NR 14 2009
66-1 WASHBURN 1 3 7 2010
66-2 WASHBURN 1 3 4 2003
66-2 WASHBURN 2 3 9 2004
66-2 WASHBURN 2 3 9 2005
66-2 WASHBURN 2 3 13 2006
66-2 WASHBURN 1 3 27 2007
66-2 WASHBURN 1 3 8 2008
66-2 WASHBURN NR NR 20 2009
66-2 WASHBURN 2 3 12 2010