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An Upland Lifestyle

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by Timothy C. Flanigan with image “To know a grouse is to love it – And to love it is to wish it well”NY State Conservation Department Decades of hunting ruffed grouse and thousands of hours spent observing and photographing these wonderfully wild birds have inspired an intense level of respect for their ability to survive the many challenges of a natural world existence. Grouse chicks hatch into a world of constant danger from all manner of natural predation and weather-related struggles. Few chicks survive their first year, but those who do gain a Ph.D. in tenacity. They are survival experts who...

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Sand in My Boots – A Walk in the Southeastern Coastal Winter Woods

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by Patrick Hunter When all the leaves have fallen and the December frost starts to bite the edges of the pine straw, most hunters in the Southeast have hung their hats on white-tailed deer season. Like a butterfly re-entering its cocoon, deer hunters evolve into waterfowlers that crowd the swamps and marshes, all hoping for a chance at a greenhead. But up on the hill tucked away in the thickets, hiding in the bunch grass or cloaked in the spartina grass of the salty creeks are a different type of gamebirds. They’re upland birds, and they haven’t been forgotten, just merely...

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How to Make a Ruffed Grouse Tail Fan Display

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by Britney Booth, Covers Editor-in-Chief, with art by Phil Juliano A ruffed grouse tail fan display is one of the most iconic ways to honor your bird and preserve a memory from the hunt. With just a few tools and some patience, you can create a beautiful display piece that will last for years to come. Follow these six simple steps to DIY your own tail fan mount. 1. Remove the Tail Carefully cut the tail off the bird at the base where the feathers meet the body. Be sure to keep the short feathers attached to help make the fan look full. 2....

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Chokes and Loads Through the Season: Fine-Tuning for Grouse and Woodcock

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by Brandy Elrod Across the uplands, no two hunters step into the same season at the same time. In the great Northwoods, ruffed grouse season often opens in mid-September when leaves are still thick, but the birds aren’t as educated. Woodcock seasons generally follow the federal framework of Sept. 1 through March 10, though each state sets its own dates within that window. In places like Texas, for example, woodcock season doesn’t begin until December, long after Northern hunters have already taken to the aspen and alder thickets. Ruffed grouse, too, have varying openers by state, often beginning in mid-September or...

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Member Spotlight: Russel “Dale” Perry, Tri-state Drumming Feathers Chapter, Huntington, West Virginia

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by Grant Erhard, RGS & AWS Southeast Regional Engagement Coordinator When we hear the word conservationist, everyone thinks of something different. Maybe it’s the exact definition: “a person who advocates for the preservation and protection of the environment and its resources, particularly wildlife, forest and natural areas.” Or, maybe, you think of a specific person – someone like Gifford Pinchot, who viewed conservation as the prescription for finding balance between human activity and the workings of nature – an idea that helped create what we know today as conservation. When I think about what makes a conservationist, I reflect on the...

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Know Your Cover: Lesser-Known Woodcock Covers Along the Atlantic Coastal Flyway 

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by Ben Larson, Mid-Atlantic Forest Conservation Director  The Atlantic coastal flyway includes some of the most densely-populated and highly-disturbed landscapes in the county, but it’s also a critical migratory pathway for woodcock. Along the Atlantic coastal plain, the American Woodcock Conservation Plan emphasizes that “stopover habitats available as feeding covers are critically important to migrating woodcock.”  With the region’s historic conversion of forests to farms and cities – and the more recent reduction in forest management – woodcock are finding and using whatever covers they can, which we’re identifying with migration data and partners. We’re getting innovative, too, creating habitats in new...

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