This recalls an incident I was fortunate enough to witness once in the mid 1980's when I was a student at Hocking College in Nelsonville. At the time, I lived off campus in Buchtel, OH nearby. There was an extensive woodland behind the house where I stayed, a part of Wayne National Forest. One day when I was hiking while wearing my bark camouflage overalls, I came across a grouse drumming log with fresh scat. I noticed a nearby large tree upslope from the log and decided to lean against it and wait patiently. My patience paid off as a male Ruffed Grouse hopped up onto the log and began drumming. I did not have a camera but I have fond memories of this experience to this day.
David A. Brinkman
Master of Education, Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH
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From: Jim McCormac <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2013 10:38 PM
Subject: Ruffed Grouse in southern Ohio
Hi all,
Of our resident birds, the Ruffed Grouse is certainly among the harder species to see. They have declined significantly in most parts of the state, but still remain locally common in some areas of southern Ohio, where they favor thick brushy growth. Perhaps the best place to seek grouse is in Shawnee State Forest in Scioto County, and neighboring Adams County. Male grouse begin drumming with vigor about now, and that’s how most people locate grouse. Observing a male in action on its drumming log is nearly impossible, but if one is willing to stumble through the dense growth that grouse favor, you’ll eventually kick one out. But getting a good, prolonged view is quite a rare thing.
Thus, I thought some people might enjoy some nice photos and a fabulous video of a male Ruffed Grouse strutting its stuff, made the other day in Adams County by John Howard. Testosterone-engorged grouse do not only drum, they also strut about like a tom turkey in heat, and the display is quite spectacular. John was good enough to allow me to share the photos and video on my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/
Jim
Jim McCormac
Columbus, Ohio
Like Nature? http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/
Like Birds? http://www.ohiobirds.org/
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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.
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