Ecology and Management of Ruffed
Grouse and American Woodcock
RUFFED GROUSE
• Weigh 1-1.5 pounds
• Inconspicuous plumage
• Males have prominent
dark “ruffs” around neck
• Solitary most of year
FEMALE
MALE?
GENDER DETERMINATION
Central tail feather < 157 mm = Female, >163mm = Male
Best to use
“rump spots”
Color Phases
Range of Ruffed
Grouse and
Aspen
In MD: Garrett, Allegany,
Washington, Frederick
Counties only
Grouse Habitat =
Early-successional forest =
High STEM DENSITY
SPRING
• Males “drum” to attract females
• Use regular drumming logs
• Hens will begin laying nest
NESTING HABITAT
• Hen will lay 8-13 eggs and
incubate for 24 days
• All eggs will hatch at same
time and chicks leave nest
within hours
SUMMER
BROOD HABITAT:
Herbaceous Vegetation + Insects
Need Sunlight on the forest floor!
FALL
• Only 10-20% of chicks will live to September
• Young will disperse up to 20 miles from brood range
• Adults will often shift to winter habitat near food sources
WINTER
SNOW-ROOSTING
Grouse Habitat Management
• Important to set back plant succession
– Succession is the change in plant and tree species
through time
• Most efficient method  Timber harvest
• 2 main types of tree harvest
– Clear-cut
– Seed-tree or shelterwood harvest
• Both types provide benefits to grouse
• Depends on objectives and current forest
conditions
Clearcut in Western MD
Within 2- 3 years,
timber cuts will
provide some
habitat for grouse
Habitat quality will
peak at around 815 years
Grouse Habitat Example
Openings
Recent
clear-cut
Clear-cut
10-15 yrs old
Mature
oak
Heavily
Thinned Forest
Conifer thicket
Old logging roads or trails
Mast trees
High Stem density
Logging Road
Appalachian Cooperative Grouse Research Project
(ACGRP) – 1996-2001
Key Findings:
• Appalachian grouse rely on hard mast extensively and grouse
with access to hard mast have higher reproductive rates
• Chick survival appeared to be limiting factor – better in years of
good mast production
• Hunting that took as many as 35% of grouse had no impact on
the breeding population (hunting is COMPENSATORY)
• Avian predators were primary cause of adult mortality
• Project emphasizes the need to provide FOOD (mast) and
COVER (early-successional habitat) in close proximity
Other Management Recommendations
• Encourage fruit-bearing
trees and shrubs
– Grape vines, crab-apples,
cherries, blackberries
• Small clearcuts are best (2-5 acres)
• Can use prescribed burning or herbicides to
control unwanted tree species on recently cut
sites – encourage oaks
American Woodcock
(Scolopax minor)
Woodcock Ecology
•
•
•
•
Small migratory bird
Breeds in Canada and around Great Lakes south to WV
Winters in southeast U.S. including MD
In MD, breed statewide, peak migration in OctoberJanuary, and many wintering on the Eastern Shore
19
68
19
71
19
74
19
77
19
80
19
83
19
86
19
89
19
92
19
95
19
98
20
01
20
04
Breeding Population Index
American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey:
Eastern Region
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Woodcock Ecology
Unique courtship
behavior:
• Begins in April
• Sing at dusk
• Use “singing
grounds” – male flies
in pattern and calls
(peents) to attract
females
Woodcock Ecology
• Usually nest at base of tree near forest edge
• Lays 2-4 eggs, incubates 19-22 days
• Chicks leave nest immediately
Woodcock Foods
• 50-90% of diet is earthworms
– Specialized flexible bill for probing soil
• Moist soils, many times along field
edges, preferred
Woodcock Habitat
• Important that feeding sites, singing grounds,
& roosting fields in close proximity
• Abandoned farms and overgrown orchards
are often prime habitat
Woodcock Habitat: Feeding areas
- young saplings or shrubs; moist soils
with earthworms
Woodcock Habitat: Roost sites
– Fields > 3 acres; pasture and hay fields
or forest openings
Woodcock Habitat: “Singing Grounds”
– Forest clearings close to feeding areas
Woodcock Habitat Management
• Similar to grouse habitat management
– High Stem Density! = early-successional
– Timber harvest:
small strips cut in a rotation are best; 1-5 acres in
size
But…..
• Need more openings for roosting and singing
– Maintain existing pasture or hay meadows with
mowing
– Can create openings in young forest (> 0.5 acres)
with cutting or herbicide
Woodcock Habitat Example
Old field
Hardwoods
Opening
10 year-old
Recently cut
10 year-old
15 year-old
5 year-old
Pasture
Old field
Saplings (5-15 years old)
Roosting/singing
ground openings
Feeding (diurnal) cover
Grouse and Woodcock Summary
• Both grouse and woodcock populations
are declining: they need young, diverse
forests
• Key is to provide early-succession
habitat & diversity
“Soft Edge”
A soft edge will benefit
many wildlife species
Field or pasture
Shrubs
Saplings
EARLY SUCCESSIONAL HABITAT
Mature forest
“HARD EDGE”
“SOFT EDGE”
Other Wildlife of Young Forests
Golden-winged warbler
Common yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted chat
Eastern towhee
White-eyed vireo
Field sparrow
Eastern Cottontail
Wild turkey
White-tailed deer
Blue-winged warbler
Chestnut-sided warbler
FOR MORE INFORMATION
We welcome the opportunity to discuss management
options to benefit young forest wildlife in decline.
Contact Information:
Tom Mathews, Habitat Biologist, Contractor for
The Wildlife Management Institute
301-707-3475
tommathews@atlanticbb.net
www.timberdoodle.org
www.youngforest.org
QUESTIONS???