Our ruffie numbers around Fairbanks are very low, as a result I think of a combination of much of the habitat getting a bit mature and the hunting pressure increasing to a ridiculous level. Our grouse seasons all open on August 10, which is way too early. At that point the family groups are still together and the YOY are clueless. People ride the trails and logging roads on quads and in pickups and sluice them on the ground in large numbers. I walked 7miles in 3 hrs yesterday with my 28ga Repro, all on fresh 3 day old snow and didn't see a single bird track in what has been a very productive area in the past. No one had been on that trail since the snow fell. All I saw was fox, squirrel, moose and bunny trax. There weren't many rose hips along the trail, which is what often brings them to it, but even where there was some there was no sign of birds. The season opens way too early for the amount of pressure we get these days. The top of our ruffie cycle was a few yrs back too so we may have dropped off on that. There's a few around our neighborhood and one walked into my place here yesterday afternoon when I was gone. I'm hoping it discovers my bird feeder and sticks around for the winter. I'll keep him in food for sure.
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