Pass Along PDJ
June 2009

he coming hunting season is going to depend almost 100 percent on the present nesting season. The upland birds we hunt are ground-nesters, the hens depending upon cryptic coloration -- camouflage -- to evade nest predators. Since incubation runs generally several weeks, varying by species, this is prolonged exposure to predation; so when the eggs finally hatch, all at nearly the same time, the hen doesn't dally in getting the chicks into protective cover. These chicks are precocial -- that is, they are ready to follow the hen as soon as their down dries, unlike tree-nesting bird species, most but not all of which have to be fed by the parent birds until they are fledged.

Obviously, the success of a nesting season depends upon a number of things -- predator populations, quality of the habitat for both nesting and later for cover, weather (not too cold, not too rainy), food supplies (bugs being the most important food source for the first few weeks of the chicks' life -- protein, you know). A dry spring can mean that nesting is successful but the lack of moisture can retard insect populations and harm chick development early on. But cold rains aren't the answer, either, as the chicks' feather growth may not be sufficient to prevent hypothermia and death. Mowing practices can harm some ground-nesters, pheasants and ducks especially. All in all, it's tough being mama bird.

And of course, the predators aren't going away, which is why good cover is so important. Think of good cover as a haystack, and the chicks -- and adult birds -- are needles. The smaller or thinner the haystack, the easier it is to find the needles. That's a simplified explanation of wildlife habitat management: Build bigger and better haystacks.

Managing habitat for the various species is sometimes a problem because of the time it takes to create it. Speaking very generally, you can at least start to positively affect pheasant and quail populations in as little as a couple years; but for woodcock, it's four to six years, and ruffed grouse in six to 10 years, depending upon the vitality of the forest you are managing.

Six years ago, on some family land in northern Michigan, we had a 15-acre aspen clearcut executed. The forest was starting to lose its aspen component to age as it was replaced by oak and maple. We did the cut, followed by two more of equal size three years later, specifically for grouse, woodcock, and deer habitat. The land had once held good grouse numbers, but prior to the cuts, we had not seen or heard a grouse in several years, and if deer were around, they were just passing through carrying their lunch. We have since heard drummers, and the deer hunters in the family reported moving up to a dozen birds in November.

This spring, a hen grouse built her nest only 50 yards from the cabin and 50 yards from the edge of the oldest cut. She laid 13 eggs (a couple over the average), and they all hatched (also not the norm). That just happened last Saturday. She scooted the young 'uns out of the open in a hurry.

And with some help from the weather, hopefully things will shape up nicely for those little buggers to grow into more grouse I will have the distinct pleasure of missing this fall!

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