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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH TECHNOLOGY

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ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH TECHNOLOGY

Maybe it is just that I have gotten a little older, but during the last grouse season it seemed birds flushed and accelerated away from me a lot faster than ever before. Of course, if you talk to my hunting partners, they would probably say it slightly different – they would tell you that I am missing them by a wider margin now than ever before. But, after very thorough questioning, I’ve been assured by our great team of RGS and AWS biologists that the birds we are hunting today are not any faster than their ancestors.

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Risk and Reward for the American Woodcock

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Risk and Reward for the American Woodcock: the Energy Balance of an Early Migrant in a Late-Winter Storm

By Andy Weik, RGS & AWS Regional Wildlife Biologist

Woodcock huddle together in Central Park, New York City following March 2017 snowstorm. Food stressed woodcock are at increased risk of starvation and predation. Photo by Thomas Schuchaskie, from Facebook March 15, 2017.
Woodcock huddle together in Central Park, New York City following March 2017 snowstorm. Food stressed woodcock are at increased risk of starvation and predation. Photo by Thomas Schuchaskie, from Facebook March 15, 2017.

In the snowy North, we look forward to the arrival of woodcock and red-winged blackbirds as the first signs of spring. Woodcock are among the first – if not THE first – ground-nesting birds to begin nesting. Woodcock really push the envelope as they migrate north from southern wintering grounds, moving into open ground along spring seeps, streams and south-facing slopes in search of earthworms and grubs as snow cover recedes. In years when winter segues smoothly into spring, the early-arriving woodcock is rewarded with sufficient food and mild weather to hatch its four-egg clutch within a month of arriving on the breeding range, before most of its predators have extra mouths of their own to feed.

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THEY SAID IT! . . . Best Quotes from the Spring RGS Magazine

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THEY SAID IT! . . . Best Quotes from the Spring RGS Magazine

By Matt Soberg

Are you an upland hunter?  Bird dog owner? Shotgun lover?

Have you become afflicted by the grouse and woodcock hunting addiction? Do you care about the future of our sporting traditions?

If you answer “yes” to any of the above, the Ruffed Grouse Society magazine is a must see – a one stop shop for everything grouse and woodcock hunting and forest habitat conservation – hunting tips, bird dog info, gun reviews, book reviews, cooking recipes, classic hunting stories, habitat management information . . . the list goes on and on.

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Why We Hunt, with Member Douglas B. Egenolf

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Be careful . . . ruffed grouse will burn a passion into your hunting heart from which you can’t break free.

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Give me just a touch of cooler air and for some reason, I have to start roaming. If the calendar is on the right month, that means the ruffed grouse season is in full swing. I am going to spend my free time experiencing a dense woods devour me, bones and all. I could spend some time waiting in a treestand for a whitetailed deer to come by but, I must admit, I still get fidgety. That sitting in one spot doesn’t give me any relief from that feeling that I have to roam. As I study my simple reaction to cooler weather, some will call it many things. I no longer think of it as being a passed-down tradition, being taught by someone, etc., etc. It is in my blood, and this feeling comes over me much the same as breathing; so simple and natural.

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Why We Hunt, with Member Tom Keer

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Our hats look like oil pans, our favorite vests have more patches and thread than original cloth, and while we may be late to supper, we are never late for opening day. Anything done in moderation shows a lack of interest, and we are among the obsessed. Go hard or go home.

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I don’t think we grouse and woodcock hunters are very smart.  At least I know I’m not. For what kind of hunter volunteers to get shredded by cover only to get a glimmer of a snap shot at cagey birds that dart behind aspen swales and pine boughs? And what kind of hunter shrugs off a bark dusting so easily that it’s considered normal? We do it again and again so much so that we are reminded of Albert Einstein’s ‘Definition of Insanity’: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Even though I know your answer, it’s not right for me to answer for you. But for me? By Einstein’s definition, I am insane.

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Coming soon . . . Ruffed Grouse Society Summer Magazine

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Get premier content on grouse and woodcock hunting and conservation, exclusive to RGS and AWS members

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The cover image by renowned ruffed grouse photographer Tim Flanigan certainly fits the RGS and AWS mission depicting a great image of a ruffed grouse with the view of cut logs in the background signifying the benefits of forest management on young forest wildlife species.
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