Goodbye Southern Ontario Ruffed Grouse?

[sidelock]

I've just travelled 59km on my fat bike through my traditional grouse hunting haunts near Kinmount/Minden area. Much of it is through good to excellent grouse habitat where I've harvested hundreds of birds in the past 45 years of hunting. My total bird count was zero! Not even one single bird was flushed or seen. Incredible! It's literally extirpation of the species.
Back in the early 90's I would have seen at least 25 birds, even in poor years. I would mark 1994 -1996 as the last "half decent" hunting years where you could expect to get five or six birds with a dog in about four hours of hunting. Now you can hunt for four hours and not even fire a shot. Last December I looked for budding birds after the first snows and I might have seen three birds in total for 50+ hours of travel. There would have easily been 120+ birds in an effort like this back in the early nineties. West Nile is all I can figure , from reading all the literature. It's not habitat degeneration and it's not hunting pressure. Now my area has lousy waterfowl hunting and non-existent grouse hunting. Time to move north of Gogama/Timmins? I feel bad for my poor black Lab. I'll have to drive eight hours north now if I want him to pick up a few birds during the season.

With all due respect, expecting to find grouse in the same location where they were abundant 45 years ago is wishful thinking. That habitat is now too old to support grouse.

[Cass]

With all due respect, expecting to find grouse in the same location where they were abundant 45 years ago is wishful thinking. That habitat is now too old to support grouse.

Nailed it. A good grouse spot is only a good grouse spot for 10-15 years max. You need to move with the grouse to proper habitat.

[werner.reiche]

With all due respect, expecting to find grouse in the same location where they were abundant 45 years ago is wishful thinking. That habitat is now too old to support grouse.

Some of the comments on here show an incredible lack of knowledge. If a grouse is a hotspot all and only because it is a recent cut over, then your observation is correct. Any other case - hawthorne thickets, cranberry swamps, alder thickets, edges of fields - could you explain how these become "too old"?

[finsfurfeathers]

Some of the comments on here show an incredible lack of knowledge.

Now that's more than a bit condescending...

[werner.reiche]

Now that's more than a bit condescending...

Actually - it was addressing another condescending remark: "With all due respect, expecting to find grouse in the same location where they were abundant 45 years ago is wishful thinking. That habitat is now too old to support grouse."

And then people wonder why the forum is losing members...

[werner.reiche]

Now that's more than a bit condescending...

I'm starting to understand why forum members were complaining about the moderators now.

[finsfurfeathers]

That's more than a bit condescending...

I've been hunting the same areas for 45+ years - and I do know a bit about finding grouse.
I've bought 150 acres 11 years ago and have cut through it heavily in places. The old fields with thick fence rows with wild grapes, apples and haws are still there.
My brother had his ESS out a couple of times as well to places where we would always find birds. One flush each day. That's discouraging.

I'm starting to understand why forum members were complaining about the moderators now.

Good old pot calling the kettle black eh? As this was not moderated one should know why mods are still in place.

[Longears]

It’s been a few years since I posted or replied to any of these threads , but I decided to give my input on this one. I see that things will never change on here , after I was told to leave the European hare alone I tuned out . Seems things haven’t changed , it’s a hunting forum lighten up all… and no I haven’t left my favorite game species alone!

[Gregger17]

“Southern Ontario” is the key word in this topic! I’m going to shut my mouth about Grouse hunting in northern Ontario. ..


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[finsfurfeathers]

It’s been a few years since I posted or replied to any of these threads , but I decided to give my input on this one. I see that things will never change on here , after I was told to leave the European hare alone I tuned out . Seems things haven’t changed , it’s a hunting forum lighten up all… and no I haven’t left my favorite game species alone!

welcome back, hope to see some post when the snow flies. Reason I became a mod because of lost members like you.