Blue Grouse Hunting... (Or Dusky Grouse)

[smj]

Anyone finding any blue grouse this year? I shot two during elk season, but we have been out a couple times to locations that used to always hold lots of grouse - and not found a single bird. Somewhere, I don't recall where, I heard that the populations here in the west were on the decline big time - not just the standard cyclic ups and downs that you'd normally get. If anyone out there has a source on this, it would be great to get a posting on it! The birds sure seem scarce this year from what I've seen! (Or not seen!) It seems like once the birds are gone, they don't come back either - Which does not fit the standard grouse population cycle. I do know that west nile is killing them, and has proven to be 100% fatal to grouse - they have tagged some around here and when the bird is no longer on the move, they go pick up the carcass and test it. (I suppose once in a while it is a scat pile!) Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has any info on this.

[michihunter]

Ain't see any around my hunt area in about 15 yrs. Used to be real nice birds too. About the size of a chicken!!

[BT]

We had the ruffled grouse but since the coyotes have increased their numbers have diminished.

[smj]

I've put in a request to the Colorado Division of Wildlife on this subject. I'll post the reply when it comes back... Which can take a week or so some times!

[smj]

So - the DOW got back to me. Let me see if I can present the exchange...

Steven,

I’m not aware of any widespread decline of blue grouse over and above the normal fluctuations due to weather influencing habitat. Where in particular have you noticed them disappearing? The last year or two they have not been terribly abundant, probably due to drought, but they have not disappeared from areas I’ve hunted either.

Tom Remington
Terrestrial Section Manager
Colorado Division of Wildlife

Tom,

Thanks for the reply. I have read that the blue grouse goes through cycles, 5 year cycles I believe. However, what I have been seeing is a total lack of blue grouse in areas that I have always found at least a few in years past. For example, Johnny Park, the eastern ridge that comes off of Mount Harvard (I used to find tons of grouse up there - the last two seasons up there I've not seen a grouse.), Left Hand Reservoir, this year up by Rabbit Ears Pass, south east side I believe, three of us could not find a grouse anywhere. Also, a lot of the folks I know who hunt elk are also reporting that they are not seeing blue grouse like they used to - if at all. This is why I wanted to drop a note to you guys to ask if this is happening all over, just the normal population cycle, or something else going on. Up on the east massif of Mount Harvard, we could go up there and find coveys of grouse! Maybe 5 coveys with up to a dozen birds. For the last 5 years or so, there have not been any. Also used to see ptarmigan up there as well. They were gone a year or two before the grouse disappeared - It has been probably 10 years since I have hunted elk up there, but I have been back a couple of times to hunt grouse as the hunting used to be grand! Same with Left Hand Reservoir. Both grouse and ptarmigan could be had above the lake. Last year, I found one grouse. This year, I found no grouse and no ground tracks after a light snow. Johnny Park used to hold a fair number of grouse, but I've not seen one up there in years. Not many rabbits up there anymore either. I suppose Johnny Park could be people and their 4x4's. And there are a fair number of folks up at Left Hand Reservoir these days, too. But do hikers around the lake bother grouse up in the woods?

Thank you for your time,

stevej

Steve,

I don’t think hikers in the woods affect grouse unless they are the hikers carrying shotguns with bird dogs in front of them. Actually blue grouse do not cycle in the sense that snowshoe hare and ruffed grouse appear to. When we did intensive research on blue grouse in a few study areas we found there populations were relatively stable over time. The idea of population cycles, while still popular in the sporting media has pretty much fallen out of favor with most population ecologists. Populations do fluctuate over time in response to environmental conditions; weather, habitat quality, predator abundance, disease, etc., but not usually in a predictable enough way to call it a cycle. I know I’ve been waiting for over 5 years for ruffed grouse in Minnesota to recover from their “cyclic” low. They are like 3 years past their predicted high and still mired at low population levels. What can contribute to the appearance of a cycle is that environmental conditions tend to be correlated over several years. When it is good for reproduction and survival it stays that way for several years, and when it is bad it stays bad. For instance drought will affect the habitat in the year it is dry, the lack of production of food/cover/insects will then persist for several years because soil moisture is low, seeds were not produced, and cover in a traditional sense is usually last years growth. Drought cycles are usually several years long too. When predators are increasing or high they stay high until they eat themselves out of food or disease kicks in. When they crash it takes them awhile to recover, so survival rates of grouse jump for several years. You get the idea.

Blue grouse populations can fluctuate significantly, just not to the extent that eruptive species like ruffed grouse, snowshoe hare, Hungarian partridge, etc. do. It appears that drought has impacted them primarily by lowering nest success and chick survival (speculating here). I have not seen as many grouse as I have in the past, although I have still had good hunting. Rabbit Ears Pass is one of the areas I saw few birds last year but plenty two or maybe three years ago. I have not hunted Mount Harvard at all, so can’t speak to that. I saw plenty of birds near Gunnison, along the I-70 corridor in spots and in the Zirkels. I’ve been successful in part because if I don’t find them I keep moving to other spots until I do. It sounds like you are primarily hunting high elevation (>9,000 feet). Although a few birds breed up their most of the breeding occurs in lower elevation sagebrush/aspen areas or mountain shrub stands. How many birds there are up high is a function of what the conditions were like at breeding areas much lower, and the condition of the habitat up high. If there are not abundant vaccinium berries or currant berries in these higher elevation areas the birds will keep moving until they find them. Berry crops up high are usually pretty consistent, but I’ve noticed the last 3-5 years with our drought conditions they have been highly variable. I was in a few spots last year where the currant berries were staggeringly abundant (and blue grouse plentiful), and other areas where there were none and the plants looked like they were hit with a blow torch.

You sound pretty knowledgeable about blue grouse so I hesitate to talk about movements but just in case, you may be hunting up high before many of the birds have moved up there. While adult males leave their territories (usually) in July and head to higher elevations, movements of brood hens, unsuccessful females and young of the year is highly variable depending on habitat conditions (affected by moisture primarily) down low. If you hunted elk in an area in mid-November and saw a lot of grouse, you may not have seen very many had you hunted there on opening day with primarily just adult males present. In some years hens and chicks may not make it to those higher elevation areas until winter sets in, they hang up at mid-elevation areas. Moral of this story is that blue grouse hunting can be tough because there are so many variables affecting how many there are and where they are at any point in time. When you figure it out or guess right they can be very abundant, which you have experienced. I’ve learned to not fall in love with a spot too much, keep moving and you will find them. Sometimes it only takes a few miles on the same ridge. I’ve attached a PDF of a Powerpoint presentation you may find useful.

Tom


Now if someone, like BT, can tell me how to include a PDF file, I'll also post the really cool "how to hunt blue grouse" PDF file that they sent me! It is well worth a read. Or PM me, and I'll send it to you.

[BT]

I am not the person to ask for advice on posting the PDF but maybe Shaman can assist.

Interesting stuff....he sounds very knowledgeable and offered good responses to your inquiry.

Good to see someone in a position who belongs there