Ruff and Sharp-tail Grouse

The last few days we have had Ruff Grouse take over our yard. They have been leaving tracks all around the house and acting as if they own the place.

Just yesterday I looked out the back door window and one was sitting on the roof of the basement stairs entry.

It took off when it saw me and flew to some dense woods south of the house. As soon as it took flight four more joined if from various spots in the yard where they were roosting or feeding.

Now that the small crabapples are covered by the snow they have gone back to their main food which is Hazelnut bush catkins. They love to tightrope walk out to the end of flimsy branches to pick off the catkins.

Occasionally they lose their balance when the branch fails to sustain their weight. When that occurs they take flight and move to another location and make it appear that was their intention in the first place.

When the weather turns cold or a storm occurs, the Ruff Grouse takes shelter in deep snow and then lets the snow completely cover it. It seems to know in advance when bad weather is on the way and they make sure their crop is full before taking shelter.

Once the weather improves they push aside the snow and go back to their quest for more food.

The photo shows where one Ruff Grouse spent a day or two waiting out the last storm. The dark red droppings in the middle of the pile are obviously from crabapples taken from our trees.

This afternoon while snowshoeing we flushed two Sharp-tail Grouse as we came out into a clearing. They flew rapidly off into the open field cluck, cluck, clucking into the distance.

Ruff Grouse prefer woods to open country while the Sharp-tail Grouse prefer open fields. They can be seen occasionally in the other’s territory but it is rare.

A few weeks ago we counted exactly fifty Sharp-tail Grouse flying in a long group from one field to another