Airplane accidents are usually a series of events leading up to disaster. I believe that it is the same with the grouse’s disappearance in my area. There is no single event that caused their demise, but a series of events, when taken together, proved disastrous for the species.
However, I believe that the increase of predators in our coverts may be the leading factor, which in conjunction with other factors, spelled the end of grouse hunting. Given the many areas of great cover and feed in my area of the Hudson Valley and Connecticut, I see predation as the leading cause. Possum, racoon and fox are no longer hunted or trapped. New predators such as the coyote and bobcat now are prevalent in our coverts. Without contributing factors, I believe that we would still have grouse, albeit in smaller numbers, given the high number of predators.
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