Last Updated: Friday, November 17, 2006 1:50 PM CST
Wisconsin Woodsmoke -- Grouse fare well in winter months
by Ced Vig
A good place to spend winter
Wildlife prefers to spend winter near or in a spruce swamp or balsam fur thicket. Here the temperature is 20 or 30 degrees warmer than the open country and the winds are 70 percent less. In these places we are apt to see deer, snowshoe hares, re squirrels, ruffed grouse, chickadees, gray jays and woodpeckers.
Ruffed grouse fare well during winter
Ruffed grouse are snow roosters. When the weather gets very cold and the snow is at least 10 inches deep, they dive down in to the snow and make a burrow where they can be cozy and warm. The temperature in the roost is seldom less than 20 degrees. A grouse may spend several days in his “roost” if the weather is too cold. When he is in his roost or burrow he is free from predators. Ruffed grouse are well adapted to the Northwoods. They have their burrows and when they are hungry they fly up into the trees and satisfy their hunger by eating the flower buds of the male aspen trees.
Fool hens
Each winter, a few spruce grouse are seen in the Northwoods. Because they are quite tame - whirring up to the nearest limb to crane their necks naively at an intruder - the old time lumberjacks called them “fool hens.”
Spruce grouse are the least known of our native, northern birds. By 1900, Wisconsin's population had dwindled to only a few birds because of logging, forest fires and hunting.
Smaller than ruffed grouse, spruce grouse are a dusky gray. The male has a sharply defined breast and white barred sides. He boast a pair of red eyebrows. The female is brown and heavily barred. Both sexes have chest nut tipped tails.
Spruce grouse live in the evergreen trees, feeding on the needles and buds of pine, spruce, balsam and tamarack trees. This gives their flesh and unpalatable resinous flavor, especially in winter.
Good News
After months of government sponsored monitoring this year in the United States and Canada, involving the testing of more than 15,000 birds, not one wild migratory bird has been found carrying the worrisome highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus.
The low pathogenic form of the virus was found in two Mute Swans in Michigan and in Mallards in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Low pathogenic H5N1 is not a health hazard to people and causes at most mild sickness in birds.
Hunter Orange Makes Sense
The effectiveness of fluorescent orange safety clothing speaks for itself. In the past ten years, 15 New York State big game hunters have been mistaken for deer or bear and killed - every one of these victims were not wearing hunter orange. Over the same time period, not one person who was wearing hunter orange was mistaken for game and killed.
Hunters' Code of Ethics
Positive hunter behavior and ethics will preserve the future of hunting and will help ensure continued opportunities and places to hunt. Ethics cover behavior related to issues such as respect, responsibility and fairness, which cannot always be addressed with laws. Responsible and ethical hunters should always:
Respect Landowners
- Always know where you are hunting and gain permission before entering private lands. Know how to use a map, compass or GPS unit when needed.
- Be courteous, follow the landowner's rules and treat their property with respect.
Respect other Hunters
- Don't interfere or disrupt the hunt of another. Treat other hunters in a manner that you would expect to be treated.
Respect Non Hunters
- Understand that not everyone supports hunting. While everyone is entitled to their own view, positive hunting behavior will not turn someone who is neutral into someone that is opposed.
Respect Wildlife and other Natural Resources
- Follow all hunting laws and report violations observed to your local warden.
- Assist or support landowners and the DNR with wildlife habitat projects.
Above code taken from Wisconservation publication.
221 citations/criminal complaints were issued during the 2005 9 day gun deer season for illegal use of bait. For additional information concerning the baiting/feeding regulation - refer to the 2006 Wisconsin Deer Hunting Regulations Pamphlet.
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