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November 2008

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From:
Matthew Valencic <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Matthew Valencic <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:31:17 -0500
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As a kid I remember sitting in the woods hunting squirrels in the fall and
hearing the grouse drum, although at that time I did not know what the sound
was.  I always thought it sounded like a tractor starting somewhere in the
distance!

Yes, grouse do drum in the fall.

Matt Valencic
Chagrin Falls, OH

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tracy
Morman
Sent: Friday, November 14, 2008 9:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Ohio-birds] drumming grouse

Hello everyone.
I'm fortunate to have a few ruffed grouse roaming around my woods and
recently I have noticed a little increase in their activity. I have flushed
a few and heard some drumming. I thought drumming was a spring-time ritual
and I was trying to remember if I had ever heard it in the fall.

Last week, I saw an obviously immature grouse walking along my driveway.It
was smaller and had a stubby tail and barely any crest on it's head. But the
real clue that it was a youngster, was that it walked away slowly down the
driveway and into the woods instead of flying away immediately. (like any
other grouse would do when confronted with an approaching vehicle)

Last night was a nice full moon. The woods were lit up. I stepped outside
around 11PM to check it out and heard a grouse drumming! I stood there for a
moment not quite believing what I had just heard, and it did it again. After
about the 7th drum roll, I went back inside. Around 1:30 AM, my dogs were
barking and woke me up. I went back outside and heard some deer moving
around close by so I knew what was up. To my surprise, the grouse was still
going strong!

So my questions are:
1. Do grouse drum throughout the year? Could it be related to the
photoperiod?
2. Has anyone ever heard a grouse drumming at night? and
3. Did the very bright full moon have anything to do with it?

I've also heard Great-horned Owls calling the past few nights and a Screech
Owl last weekend.


Tracy Morman
Scipio Township
Meigs Co.

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______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]

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