RGS Fall Forecast

[scolopaxmatt]

The Ruffed Grouse Society has released its fall forecast.  Spread the seemingly good news.

 

 

New York

New York had good weather for nesting in May, however above-average rainfall in most of the state in June may have negatively affected nest success and chick survival, or alternatively resulted in abundant food resources for woodcock in the form of earthworms and other soil surface invertebrates, and for grouse in the form of insects, leafy plants, and berries. The drumming rate from this spring’s turkey hunter observation survey was 0.24 grouse drumming/hour, which is a 9 percent increase from last year. The spring drumming rate has shown to be a good predictor of the fall flush rate for grouse. “This would suggest that the flush rate this fall will be higher than last year,” remarked Mike Schiavone, New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) lead upland gamebird biologist.

According to Schiavone, “The breeding population index (singing males/route) for American woodcock from the singing-ground survey (coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) increased from spring 2014 to spring 2015, so we anticipate that we will see an increase in the number of birds hunters encounter this fall. A lot depends on reproductive success this summer, but in general, the breeding index is a good indicator of abundance.”

You can read about the “Grouse and Woodcock Hunting Log” on DEC’s website http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/9351.html.