The grouse in my area don’t let you get close. Whichever variant you are chasing, Big Blue is an enormous grouse, topping three pounds or more — significantly heavier than a pheasant, to give Midwesterners some context — who prefers the thin air and thick … Best areas to hunt. The 10-year average blue grouse harvest in Nevada is 1,665. She heeled at my side, shaking with excitement. Since that time, a variety of grouse season dates have been authorized, but the number of grouse hunters has remained low due to the birds general scarcity and the steep terrain and high elevations of their habitat. The blue grouse is the largest of Canada’s hunted native upland birds, and because of its dark plumage it goes by several different names, including dusky and sooty grouse. Blue Grouse (recently split to two species, the Sooty Grouse and Dusky Grouse)are the second largest grouse in North America (the largest grouse is the sage grouse). Of all the years I have hunted grouse, I have only come across a handful of hunters. Female Dusky grouse . The darn thing just stood there. Part of me wondered if they could be Sage Grouse just because they looked big. The first legal season on dusky grouse in Arizona did not take place until 1964 when 33 hunters spent 49 days to harvest 44 grouse. Sooty Grouse - Grouse Hunting - Upland Hunting. CA Sooty & Ruffed Grouse Zone. This will be distinct and gray in sooty grouse. Dusky grouse inhabit central Nevada from around Austin, east to the Nevada/Utah border and north to the Idaho/Nevada border. The 2012-13 blue grouse hunting season will be the first time that Nevada has classified its blue grouse into “dusky” and “sooty” categories. Blue grouse is a term that refers to both dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus). Download and print hunt maps for California. Here are a few tips. Steven Rinella & Barbara Gabier Find a Sooty Grouse Hen in Tongass National Forest. Best of all, enjoy the peace and quiet of the woods. They are not particularly early-risers so they can be seen throughout the day foraging. Adults have a long square tail, light gray at the end. The sooty are prevalent in the Sierras while the dusky’s inhabit the Rocky Mountains. Forest grouse includes sooty (blue) and ruffed grouse. Sooty Grouse: Large, chicken-like bird, dark gray to blue-gray with yellow-orange eye comb, black tail with wide pale gray terminal band. Tags Sooty (Blue) and Ruffed Grouse Hunt Zone, Grouse, bird Summary Sooty (Blue) and Ruffed Grouse Hunt Zone Description Mapped hunt boundary is an approximation of regulations using best available data as of September 2015. You’re generally shooting a bird that’s sitting in a tree, perched in a tree, or on the ground. Ruffed Grouse Hunting In The Rain – How To Approach It. The precise ranges of the two species are well-defined in the south, separated by extensive areas of unsuitable forest-free habitat, but somewhat uncertain in the north of the range of the genus where there is no separation; Barrowclough et al. She had already retrieved a few quail, and had the makings of a great bird dog. Blue Grouse: Dusky Grouse Dendragapus obscurus; Sooty Grouse Dendragapus fuliginosus; Blue grouse, an Oregon native, occupy the coniferous forests of western Oregon, the eastern slopes of the Cascades, the blue mountains of northeastern Oregon, and the Klamath Basin and south Warner Mountains. Males are a steely gray-blue, but during courtship they reveal orange eye combs and yellow-orange air sacs in the neck. There are several grouse species throughout the country, including ruffed grouse, spruce grouse, blue grouse (dusky and sooty), sharp-tailed grouse, and sage grouse. In Oregon, sooty grouse are found in the Coast Range, Cascades and Warner mountains. The grouse in my area don’t let you get close; this one was at 33 yards. Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. Immature males look a lot like the females. Daily Bag and Possession Limits 3. The Blue Grouse was split into separate species. Big timber is important to sooty grouse, as it provides food and shelter in the winter months. Driven grouse shooting is the hunting of the red grouse, a field sport of the United Kingdom. Hank Shaw: Welcome to Ground Pound Town. Blue Grouse, photo by iStock: In the spring breeding season, blue grouse males raise feathers on either side of their necks to expose a large halo of white feathers surrounding a brightly … Males are a steely gray-blue, but during courtship they reveal orange eye combs and yellow-orange air sacs in the neck. Blue grouse is a term that refers to both dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) and sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus). Features: Blue grouse are large in comparison to most other grouse species. This large grouse is split into two separate species; the Sooty Grouse of the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Ranges and the Dusky Grouse of the Rocky Mountains. You’re generally shooting a bird that’s sitting in a tree, perched in a tree, or on the ground. Use the app to hunt for species such as Grouse and Ruffed Grouse. Its Canadian distribution is mainly restricted to mountainous regions of B.C. One morning we were driving up a logging road when suddenly I stopped for what looked like a small, confused chicken. It is closely related to the dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus), and the two were previously considered a single species, the blue grouse.. They might be tricky to finally get into your pack or vest, but they are also somewhat predictable. 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