SCHIESS: Ruffed grouse abundant in area mountains
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Mountain roads in the fall can be lead to interesting encounters. Firewood gathers, bear hunters, archery hunters usually have something in common — all keep a lookout for forest grouse, mainly ruffed grouse on Aug. 30.
Last week while harvesting several loads of firewood, I had to stop four times to allow female Ruffs to lead their toddlers across forest roads. Squashed piles of feathers along U.S. Highway 20 through Island Park are evidence of grouse getting caught in that racetrack since the speed limit has increased.
While many grouse hunters drive the mountain roads looking for the ruffs, a walk along old closed logging roads often yields enough grouse for a hunting limit.
Growing up on the bank of Patterson Creek in Teton Valley gave me many early opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities. “Wild chickens” or ruffed grouse were plentiful along the creek and surrounding forest.
Two early childhood experiences with ruffs stand out. One happened in the early spring as I watched a male ruffed “drumming” by beating it wings in the air trying to attract a mate. The other experience was while I was snowshoeing with Dad and a grouse exploded out of the snow scaring the jeepers out of me.
In the spring the drumming of the males can be heard as it starts slowly as a series of thumps followed by accelerating beatings of wings in the air resembling an engine or drums. The sound is unmistakable. It is the sound of spring in where ever ruffed grouse are found.
Ruffed grouse are well equipped for winter survival. In the fall as cold weather approaches, they will sprout extra feathers on their legs that will insulate them. They also grow modified hairs called pectinations on their feet that acts as snowshoes allowing them to walk on the loose snow.
One of the strangest habits of the ruffed grouse is they use the insulating properties of snow during the bitter cold of winter. They will fly high in the air, tuck their wings along their body and dive into the snow. At times they will burrow under the snow horizontally for a couple of feet to hide better from predators.
Most ruffed grouse harvested in Idaho are not from a destination hunt. They are usually taken by hunters in search of other game animals. With a season from August 30 until December 31, hunting them coincides with most of the big game seasons in the state.
A current Idaho hunting license is needed to hunt them as an upland game stamp is not required for forest grouse.
There are two color phases of ruffed grouse, the red or brown and the gray. Both are found in Idaho. Lewis and Clark called them “small speckled pheasants” and are the most widely distributed grouse along their route. Their name is derived from two black ruffed feather patches on their neck.
Of the three forest grouse in Idaho, the ruffed are the most widespread covering all but the arid desert area of the state. In their regulation booklet, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game indicates ruffed grouse are more numerous in northern Idaho “with good populations in central, eastern and southeastern Idaho west of the Sublett Mountains.” They also state blue grouse are more numerous than ruffs in “most southern Idaho mountains.”
The next time you need a break from the house, TV or just to get out in the fall, consider a trip into the nearest mountains. Ruffed grouse may await you on the side of the road or a short hike will jump-start your heart after they explode from under your feet.