Grouse hunting figures as fair to poor this fall

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Wildlife biologist Brad Allen has a pessimistic view of the upcoming partridge season.

"The 2005 fall grouse forecast is going to be the poorest I have ever given," said Allen who serves as group leader for the Bird Group with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.Ę"When making a prediction, I never label a season as poor, so I'll give this one a fairÉbut it is a weak fair at best."

Allen (no relation) has given me grouse and woodcock predictions each autumn for 20 years, an excellent source. Brad not only works as a game-bird scientist, but he also runs upland-bird dogs.ĘIn short, he lives and breathes the subject of grouse and woodcock because it is a vocation and avocation.ĘHis words should not be taken lightly.

Allen said the wet, cold June across Maine raised havoc on ground-nesting birds such as ruffed grouse. The severe weather killed grouse chicks and many songbird offspring, which hatch then.

Grouse might have had a second brood in July after their June failure, and casual grouse hunters who get out on the occasional Saturday morning or afternoon might run into a flock from the second nesting.ĘAccording to Allen, hunters who run into a flock or two from re-nesting will say it's an excellent year, but those chance encounters will be nothing more than exceptions, not the rule. Folks with bird dogs who pound grouse covers daily will know the big story and look back on fall 2005 as a bust.

Allen thinks northern Maine might fare a little better for grouse numbers this fall, thanks to a more successful re-nesting period in July. He said that hopefully, grouse produced enough second broods to salvage the season in the north country.

I have grouse hunted all my life and in fact, have written a book on the subject, published in 1986.ĘOne tactic will improve success with this wary bird. Some days, this bird keys on one food -- say yellow transparent apples in abandoned orchards or maybe colt's foot, a common wort that grows in dry, gravel soil on edges of roads, gravel pits and river banks. When hunters notice grouse targeting certain forage items, they should concentrate on covers that contain those preferences.

For example, in dry years, grouse may concentrate on colt's foot day after day, so in drought years, you cannot beat hunting around colt's foot. I have noticed road hunters in the north country have good seasons when rain doesn't fall because grouse feed on colt's foot on road edges, easy targets for folks riding those endless stretches of private byways with dry, gravel edges that grow this plant.

This year, a wet one, mushrooms will be everywhere, and grouse like this high, nutritious food.ĘIn good apple years, abandoned orchards are tops. For sure, keying on foods leads to success -- sometimes. Often, though, grouse ramble all over the woods, filling their crops with a hodge-podge of itemsÉsort of like humans visiting a buffet.

Woodcock might offer better prospects in fall 2005, according to Allen, who made a strange comment, strange to me anyway. He might have a great point, though.

In May, rain hinders brood survival for woodcock, but the sopping ground gives the adults an advantage in probing for earthworms, which make up 90 percent of a woodcock's diet. Dry Mays make these birds search for springy earth to find a meal.

Let's add another woodcock plus to this hunting forecast. The annual singing-ground survey this past spring was the same as last year, according to Allen. Over the last three or four decades, woodcock numbers have steadily declined in this woodcock census. So, woodcock hunters just may have gotten a glimpse of the 2005 season while hunting last year. If folks liked what they saw in 2004, they can expect the same this season.

Although Maine received lots of rain during the woodcock brooding period, nearby Canadian provinces, according to Allen, had a drier spring. He suspects that flight birds will brighten up life for woodcock enthusiasts, and of course, those migratory birds from Canada will hit the north country first.

Allen emphasized a point that bird hunters with dogs live and die on. Game birds can be scarce, but for folks with feather finders, the hunt is all about dog work.

That keeps dog handlers going in years when grouse are so scarce that when hunters run into one another at a store or morning coffee spot, they might be asking, "Did ja' get ya' grouse, yet?"ĘWhen you hear that question, you know grouse hunting has slowed considerably.

FISHING: The general-fishing season closes next Friday, but still, plenty of water stays open from Oct. 1 to 31 and hundreds of lakes and ponds have an S-24 designation. These places stay open from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, but salmonids and black bass are strictly catch and release. Folks can catch salmon, trout and bass to their hearts' content, but they must release all of these game fish. Perch, pickerel and hornpout can be the main ingredient for a fish fry, though.

Ken Allen, of Belgrade Lakes, is a writer, editor and photographer.ĘTo reach him, send e-mail to KAllyn800@aol.com