Roughed Grouse

[Napper]

[attachment=0:2r5my4zw]DSC_5569.-1.jpg[/attachment:2r5my4zw]Very surprised to find a Grouse in my Neighbours yard this early afternoon in Milton :shock:
I dunno

took pictures

[Paul O'Toole]

Thats a cool bird for the backyard.

[Napper]

Yes, this bird patrolled their back fence all day Saturday.

Surprised! Grouse was still there Sunday morning until our dog startled it,  startled herself and me at the same time.

It flew on.

Napper:)

[Axeman]

We get a fair number of RG's at our home...and I've even observed a RG lek...in the winter they love to feed off the crab apples on our crab apple tree....but my most memorable encounter was a spring day...most of the snow gone....I'm approaching highway 6 coming from our home...and a male RG is displaying on side of the road...I slow down...edge over to centre of the road...then further over as I approach...I'm going maybe 15 km an hour on an 80 km country road....being careful....and then it just launches out at my front passenger tire....sigh....

So no Snowies this year ?

[Napper]

Axeman I live in MIlton, It is rural out side of city but I am right in middle of town.
There is a crab apple tree behind my Neighbour's house,
10-15  American Robin robins have cleaned off most of the fruit over the last Month.

NO Snowy's for me :cry:

Still have Coyote's   :shock: right in the middle of the suburban area of Milton mostly in parks and creek areas. Walking the dog at night is really not an option any more. I spotted fresh tracks leading thru a school area last winter on my way to work at around 5 am.

There are many 100's of Canadian Geese and duck's hanging around the creeks and water drainage ponds.

Napper:)

[Axeman]

Hey Napper,

Do you not live on Old School Road in Georgetown or am I confused ?

Yep the RG would be a neat sighting in Milton...actually they're a neat sight anywhere...I always stop to watch for a bit whenever I see them.

We NEVER see coyotes up here...hear them...find tracks...but they're elusive...mostly bc of the hunters I think...I was just talking to a guy who hunts them around my place and he commented that there loads of coyotes in the area...the farmers have maintained for a decade that we have a coyote problem up here...and yet I have not seen a live one...or even a dead one on side of road...compared to the dozen or so I've seen in the GTA....sorry, I have seen a coyote up here on the one occasion I accompanied a group of hunters....hunted all day long in the thick of a coyote problem....and tracked only one coyote....little thing...which they shot of course....it's a great sport coyote hunting....you get 8 guys together and they break up into teams of two....each pair sits in their pick up truck on one of the borders of a concession, having a couple of beers and chat on walkie talkies while the first team of dogs (equipped with GPS collars) runs into the concession and tracks the coyotes....when the GPS shows the dogs are no longer moving, the closest pair hikes into the conession to the location of the dogs and shoots the coyotes...there are of course more than one team of dogs so when one team is tired, the second team is sent in...it's a little bit trickier than I have described bc you have to get in to where the dogs are before they rip the coyote to pieces...otherwise you risk losing the ears which are needed to claim the bounty.

Apparently there is a Snowy down your way along Guelph line north of QEW...somewhere between Leons and Rona...reports of snowy and a merlin.

[Axeman]

Recently, while chatting with some of my local yokel friends, I came across the term partridge used to identify roughed grouse...it was new to me....is partridge another name for grouse ?

[Napper]

Axeman

Its possible that people are describing  Grouse as Partidge or Tridge but they are different species.

Snippet from hunting regulations

"You may hunt and possess the following game birds:  wild
turkey, pheasant, ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, spruce
grouse, ptarmigan and gray (Hungarian) partridge. You
require a special licence to hunt wild turkey in addition to
a small game licence (see pages 31-33). Check the tables on
page 80 for bag and possession limits. Chukar is not included
in the tables but may be hunted in some circumstances. Call
your local MNRF office for more information"

Napper:)

[Axeman]

Yeah I can see why though....there are some strong similarities at first glance....

In one of those conversations, I asked the guy why hunt coyotes...it has no impact on reducing populations overall...and he replied "Yeah, I know...but it's something to do."  :evil:

[Reuven_M]

Partridge is a very common name for grouse in rural areas

[mr.sharp-photo]

Apparently there is a Snowy down your way along Guelph line north of QEW...somewhere between Leons and Rona...reports of snowy and a merlin.

think that's the one i saw on Sunday. just west of exit 111 on the QEW. it was on the south side of the highway, flying around.

[Axeman]

Nice....thank you very much for rubbing that one in....

[Axeman]

I saw a roughed grouse at my feeder today....first time at the feeder....might have been after corn or sweet feed....

[Napper]

Axeman!

I would have expected them to be a somewhat more common in your area. ie: more sightings.

p.s. my wife says "taste like Chicken"   :roll:  


Napper:)

[Axeman]

lol oh they are somewhat common...see them more in winter and during spring actually....just never at the feeder....well...now that I know what they taste like...no need to eat one then....