Where Did The Grouse Go?

I remember back when I was a kid, I used to carry a neat little side-by-side 410 shotgun when I went in the fall woods. I could pick a squirrel off a branch like nobody’s business and I also was ready when a grouse flew up from a patch of brush. In those days grouse were everywhere where there was some thick brush and they gave hunters a lot of action.

Today I’d have to walk a long ways to find one grouse. No matter where you go in SW Wisconsin the grouse is a thing of the past. What caused it? I’ve thought for a long time it was the introduction of the Wild Turkeys. Twenty to twenty five years ago we had no turkeys and lots of grouse. Today we have lots of turkeys and no grouse. The reason is because both of these species compete for the same food and nesting areas in the woods.

Anyone who has ever seen a flock of turkeys move through the woods knows that they eat every bug, bud, nut and berry in their path….the very same food that grouse used to eat. Hence, lots of turkeys eat lots of grouse food and in the last 20 years the grouse have just lost out to the bigger stronger birds.

Now there’s nothing to be done about it. The turkeys are here to stay. But it’s kind of sad to think we’ll probably never hear the drumming of a male grouse in the spring or get the heart thumping thrill of one flushing at your feet in thick cover.

by: Dan Bomkamp