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Fw: Status of Ruffled Grouse in Carolinas




----- Original Message -----
From: "Robin Carter" <rcarter@sc.rr.com>
To: "Linda Sharp" <nljsharp@worldnet.att.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 7:26 AM
Subject: Re: Status of Ruffled Grouse in Carolinas


> Linda,
>
> I have observed that the Ruffed Grouse is a fairly common, but easily
> overlooked, species in the mountains of South Carolina. I find them most
> often on Sassafras Mountain in Pickens County, but have also found them at
> various places in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness area (Caesar's Head, the
> Ashmore Heritage Preserve and vicinity) of northern Greenville County, and
> in the mountains of Oconee County.
>
> The easiest way to detect the grouse is to get out in the mountains at
dawn
> in the spring and listen for their drumming. In the early summer I have
> often encountered a hen with chicks along back roads in the Pisgah
National
> Forest southwest of Asheville, NC. Just get into the habitat a lot and
> sooner or later you will luck onto one.
>
> While Ruffed Grouse are found in the South Carolina mountains they are
much
> easier to find in the North Carolina mountains, but ever there they are
not
> as common as they are in the woods of New York, New England, and southern
> Canada. I have not yet found a Ruffed Grouse in Georgia, but I am sure
that
> is because I have not spent enough time there looking.
>
> Robin Carter
> Columbia, SC
> rcarter@sc.rr.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Linda Sharp" <nljsharp@worldnet.att.net>
> To: "Carolina Birds Post" <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 8:42 PM
> Subject: Status of Ruffled Grouse in Carolinas
>
>
> > Two weekends ago I went on a Sierra Club outing which was lead by my
> husband
> > Norm of the Ashmore Heritage Trust Preserve in northeastern Greenville
> > County. I was a rather rigorous hike which ended up being almost nine
> miles.
> > When I pulled out my pack and boots the night before and announced to my
> > husband and son I was coming along,  I was told since the hike would be
> > moving fast I was not to think about holding up the group to look at
> birds,
> > so I put my binoculars in the bottom of my pack. I felt this was good
> > compromise in a marriage between an avid hiker and a birder. About an
hour
> > in to the hike my son Jacob who was walking slightly ahead of the group
> > spotted a Ruffled Grouse on the trail. The bird moved slightly off the
> trail
> > as the group approached, but stayed in view for several minutes as if it
> had
> > no fear of humans, which delighted the rest of the group. In my six
years
> of
> > birding, I  have only encountered Ruffled Grouse one other time on my
> > sister's property in Northern Vermont. From looking at range maps in my
> > field guides it occurs in the mountains of both Carolinas and is on many
> > checklists I have for those areas. Since I have not heard in mentioned
> > mentioned much on Carolinabirds,  I was wondering if it is seen often in
> the
> > Carolinas?
> >
> >  Linda Sharp
> > Greenville, SC
> > (864)  268-9409
> > nljsharp@worldnet.att.net
> >
> >
>