Every year, my fruit trees provide food for Ruffed Grouse, a bird that is most abundant in aspen forests, but which seem to like my neck of the woods just fine. Birch, conifers, cedars, and alder thickets make up a good portion of the forest nearby, while crabapple trees dot the landscape.
I noticed Ruffed Grouse actively feeding in late January through mid-February, picking my front yard’s fruit trees clean. I also watched them feed on the catkins of a river birch on February 5th. In mid-February, six Ruffed Grouse fed from a fruit tree, the most I’ve ever observed in one location. I hope they’ve been able to find other sources of food since then, considering this year’s high snow totals. My neighborhood won’t see bare ground for weeks.
When forest logs are sufficiently free of snow, drumming should commence. On April 5th and May 5th, upcoming full moon dates, my chances of hearing the males drumming might increase, although it’s highly unlikely the woods will be clear of snow on the earlier date; but I’ve marked my calendar because there is some evidence Ruffed Grouse prefer full-moon drumming.
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| Ruffed Grouse feeding on River Birch catkins, Feb. 5, 2023. |
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| My journal entry showing found Ruffed Grouse feathers. |
References
Archibald, Herbert L. “Spring Drumming Patterns of Ruffed Grouse.” The Auk, vol. 93, no. 4, 1976, pp. 808–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4085007. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.
Kling, George W., et al. “Ecological Vulnerability to Climate Change: Terrestrial Ecosystems.” Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems, Union of Concerned Scientists, 2003, pp. 57–66. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep00033.11. Accessed 22 Mar. 2023.
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