Grouse Hunter

[Dean Romig]

Big D,

I'll tell you what I understand - mostly through the experience of about five or six cycles of highs and lows and what I have observed.

When the grouse numbers are at a low there are far fewer predatory birds and ground animals present because of the lack of necessary prey. This scarcity of predators allows for the slow but steady increase in grouse numbers over a period of several years and their numbers compound exponentially until a "cyclical high" is achieved. This "high" endures until such time as the number of predators (which have also been on the rise due to the ever-increasing number of prey animals {grouse}) reaches a number that will cause the collapse of the grouse population - which happens a lot faster than the increase in numbers had.

This isn't the only factor in the cycles of ruffed grouse populations but is the most significant and obvious. I don't claim to be an expert in this but I've made observations over these several decades that can't be ignored. The Goshawk isn't the only bird of prey that impacts ruffed grouse populations - the Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl as well as a couple of less significant hawks and owls also prey on the ruffed grouse. Not only are ruffed grouse impacted by these predators but many other small mammals and songbirds feel the effects of the increase in numbers of predators brought on by the "high" cycles of prey species.