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09-11-2015, 10:27 PM | #3 | ||||||
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Last winter was severe in Maine and a telemetry study on Maine grouse showed heavy losses. Nesting and brood rearing conditions were excellent for Maine's ground nesting birds. My contribution to the wild turkey August brood survey yielded 68 sightings; 118 toms, 130 hens and 285 poults for 533 total birds. In the better habitat numbers will be strong for turkey, grouse and woodcock. Populations may be spotty in marginal habitat. We expect excellent hunting, and yes, I am a guide, just one who is not trying to sell a hunt;-)
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"I don't hunt turkeys because I want to, I hunt turkeys because I have to." Col. Tom Kelly |
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09-11-2015, 10:44 PM | #4 | ||||||
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Well... over on the Vermont side of the Northern three-state tier the statewide prediction for ruffed grouse numbers is "average" whatever the heck that means.... five years ago we experienced a peak population year - the very next year we experienced a very poor year in terms of drummers counted in spring and birds flushed in the fall - and it has been a roller-coaster ride ever since. So, I think "average" is a dodge because the biologists just don't know from one management area to the next.
Woodcock, on the other hand, are where you find them.... as always .
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"I'm a Setter man. Not because I think they're better than the other breeds, but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture." George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic. |
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The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Dean Romig For Your Post: |
09-12-2015, 06:59 AM | #5 | ||||||
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We had a good-old-fashioned winter in SEVT and I have a feeling, based on my time in the woods this year so far, that things are a little quieter than usual (could be my advancing hearing loss though). This spring I heard three separate drummers while sitting on turkey stand but I saw only one hen grouse with little ones during the summer. Woodcock seen is about normal.
Here's another Maine article... Maybe the state bird biologist is just trying to save his job: http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/...gists-unfazed/ |
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The Following User Says Thank You to allan.mclane For Your Post: |
09-12-2015, 08:56 AM | #6 | ||||||
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Allan, thanks for sharing that article, it is an interesting read.
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Daniel Webster once said ""Men hang out their signs indicative of their respective trades; shoemakers hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers a monster watch, and the dentist hangs out a gold tooth; but in the mountains of New Hampshire, God Almighty has hung out a sign to show that there He makes men." |
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Stephen Hodges For Your Post: |
09-12-2015, 09:20 AM | #7 | ||||||
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Another link discussing the Maine grouse study project:
http://www.maine.gov/wordpress/insid...earch-project/ And, numerous links to grouse-related info: https://sites.google.com/site/erikjb...he-grouse-nerd |
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to allan.mclane For Your Post: |
09-12-2015, 11:41 AM | #8 | ||||||
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I'm hearing good things about birds in the Upper Peninsula. Birds or no birds October is a wonderful month to be out enjoying the splendor of fall with a good gun and your best hunting buddy.
I'll head north Oct 2 for a month or so.
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There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter...Earnest Hemingway |
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The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Rich Anderson For Your Post: |
09-13-2015, 09:49 PM | #9 | ||||||
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I decided to come home early from Alaska due to very low water.
So yesterday I checked 3 of my grouse spots. It looks like there are very good numbers. After walking only 15 minutes, Dot locked up a nice point, and up they came. I doubled, and there were at least 5 birds in the rise. They were both birds of the year. I didn't try to follow, but shortly had another point that I had no shot on. Five minutes later another with 4 birds that I could see. I decided to look at another area about 10 minutes away, heading for a seep, which is where I found the first birds. We were immediately into birds. Dot and Cholla(Choya) traded points for the next 7 birds, over the course of only one hour! I shot at one, and the dogs retrieved it. I passed on the others, deciding they were all youngsters. At the third spot further up the same canyon, a bird flushed as soon as I let the dogs out. I spent about an hour there and shot my last bird, filling our 4 bird limit. I dropped the last bird and my 28 Repro back at the truck and let the dogs run. We had a number of additional points and some wild flushes. I checked my counter at 3:30 pm and it was on 27! The birds were all very close to water. It felt almost unfair. I'm going to leave these alone for a couple weeks to mature a bit more. But I am very excited to see such numbers. I'll be checking other spots this week and have high hopes for more good production numbers. It was great to get out, but the temps were in the low 80's and it is very dry. We are supposed to have rain this next week. I hope it will allow the grouse to get a bit further away from the obvious water sources where they are so vulnerable. |
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The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Fred Lowe For Your Post: |
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