Finally connected on ruffed grouse | Deer River MN

 

Finally got back out hunting after a week of household chores and warm weather.  Tasha, the old timer ( 13 )  got the call so that she could take advantage of the cooler weather.  We had 2 wild flushes in the first 5 minutes and then the action continued to pick up….  She got a couple of nice points that I was able to connect on and I only missed a few of the early ones. At about the halfway point of the loop she went on point about 10 yards off the trail, as I moved in the birds starting popping up all over.  Most we out of range or behind the trees.  We ended up moving 6 or 7 from this one spot but didn’t end up getting any.  At about the 3/4 mark Tasha decided to follow a different route thru the woods.  This used to be a trail to a deer stand but has since over grown.  Her hearing isn’t what it used to be so Iw ent after her when she got to 125 yards away.  It took me a while to catch up to her and she had just gone on point and I was able to take the first one but two more flushed at the shot and I didn’t connect.  We had it back to the truck and she was still going well but it was a good time to end her hunt before it became too much.

Peach got the next spot. This area was my favorite for a number of years but the cover had gotten older and we have had quite as much success but I though it would be a good place to have her try.  She started out well with a grouse and then a woodcock point, neither of which presented a shot.  We didn’t move another birds and she didn’t even get too birdie during her hunt.  At about the 40 minute mark she started to breather really heavily and just sounded like it was a challenge.  We took a break and sat for a few minutes and then I put her leash on her and walked her slowly bak to the truck.  After resting and drinking a lot of water she seemed better.  This evening she seems back to normal.

If all goes well tomorrow Sweep will get to hunt.

Ruffed Grouse Hunt Sept 28th 2025 North of Deer River MN

Finally, the Ruffed Grouse season has begun for us! It was warmer than I had hoped for, and the forecast suggests it will stay that way for the next week. Par for the course these days, I guess. We've had to limit ourselves to morning hunts. It was about 60 degrees when we started.

Tasha, the 13-year-old, got the call this morning. We went to her favorite spot, and I was surprised to see no one else parked there. This loop usually takes 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the number of birds we see and how often she roams the woods. A nice breeze was in our faces, and she pointed a grouse within the first five minutes. It flushed low and away, offering no shot. Moments later, a second bird took off from a tree; I shot but was way behind. About ten minutes later, Tasha went on point again. She was only about ten yards off the trail, but the cover is still thick enough that it took a moment to get to her. We had two flushes—the first was a "hear-only," but I saw the second and took a shot, only succeeding in taking out some leaves.

I was already feeling overdressed, even though I was just wearing a thin waffle thermal shirt and a lightweight orange shirt. As we neared the halfway mark, we had a crosswind, and Tasha cast out about 100 yards before going on point. She stayed steady, but I couldn't flush a grouse. On the way back, she stayed mostly within 50 yards of the trail, which seemed fine considering how thick the cover still is. We ended with four more flushes and just one more shot that didn't connect. It was 70 degrees when I got back to the truck.

We drove to the next spot we had planned to hunt, but someone else was already parked there. We bagged the hunt for the day and just drove around, scouting some spots for next time.

 

First hunt of 2025 - Sharp-tailed Grouse - Devels Lake ND

 

Today, Saturday, was the start of our 2025 Upland Bird Hunting season.  I had planned to star the previous weekend but the weather wasn’t too good so I pushed it a week.  We returned to the Devils Lake ND area to chase Sharp-tailed grouse and Huns if we can find some.

60 degrees and misty was our start.  I put 13 yr old Tasha and 6 year old Peach on the ground to start.   There wasn’t much of a breeze so we zig zagged across the fields hoping to leverage what little there was.  After not finding anything in the first two fields we switched to a field that had two different sets of tree lines through their middle.  The cover around them was very short but last year this is where we had out best success, a bit difference is that it was all sun and 70+ degrees when we hit the trees.  At the end of the tree field we started to make our way back. By the time we got back to the truck both dogs had gotten over 10 miles in.  Tasha will get the day off tomorrow and hopefully will be ready on Monday.  I’m planning on running Peach tomorrow as she still needs to drop a little weight and gain a bit of fitness after having a litter this spring.  I did like how she ran and she is a backing machine.

The next portion of the hunt was a few miles away so I got a bit of a rest.  The three year old Sweep got her turn.  We ran a field that had been mowed for hay a little while ago, it had sunflowers on one side and soy beans on the other.  Sweep was ranging from 250 years down to 50 and has a nice even pace.  At about the half hour mark she locked up and I made my way towards her.  The Sharp-tails got up within gun range.  I pulled the trigger twice and nothing happened, I had this happen before at the start of last season and it was totally user error…. With this side by side you have to make sure to open it all the way so that the triggers will set..  it is a mistake that I usually only make on one of the first hunts of the season.  We continued on and were able to find another small group and this time they flushed a little bit farther out and I wasn’t able to connect…. By the time Sweep finished her run she had covered 13 miles.

 

After the hunt it was still early so we drove around looking at some new to us PLOTS land for hunting the next two days.  It is a bit discouraging to have not gotten any birds today as last year we had filled out before lunch.  I am vey happy with how the dogs worked and it was great to see how Sweep and Peach worked as it was my first actual hunt with them.

 

 

 

 

Walk In The Woods

DeerFlyPatchStore.com

Decided to head to the trails near my house at Tamarack Park today.  The past couple of years I have added in walks on these trails to help with my hunting.  One of the reasons is that it helps with the range of motion.  I do a fair amount of regular walks with the dogs but they are all on flat roads.  I’ve started to add these trails back in a few years ago after I had rode my bike a fair number of miles but was more tired than I thought I would be when I started to hunt in the woods.

I use walking sticks that I have duct taped some additional weight to them to give my arms a bit of a work out.

One useful addition was that I am using a fly patch on my hat to keep them from biting me as much.   Give them a try DeerFlyPatchStore.com

We are excited that our family has grown again

Sweep | Northwoods Snow Swept | has joined us.
She is the 2 1/2 year old daughter of our gal Val.  She is also the Great Great Grand Daughter of Tina, who was with us a number of years ago.
Another one of our dogs, Bizzy Bee, was her great aunt.  We have had great luck with the gals that have come from Tina’s line.

We are super excited to have her join the family  and I am ready to let her hunt the woods and fields this fall.

We have a teenager in the house.

We have a teenager in the house. Our wonderful girl Tasha turned 13 today. Happy Birthday Tasha

The role of predators in quail management

The role of predators in quail management is always a hot topic. In this study in south Texas on a 19,000 acre property, they collected 246 coyote scats during the 2022 year. This is a un-hunted coyote population, therefore they believe it has a higher percentage of mature coyotes, who are more effective big game hunters versus young coyotes that may depend on easy prey items such as insects. They found no evidence of livestock in the diet even though cattle were present on the property. Here's a breakdown of what they found in the scat, the percentages won't add up to 100% because multiple food items were found in scat samples:

% occurrence in scat -

White-tailed deer: 74.4%

Wild pig: 21.5%

Rodents: 17.9%

Raccoon: 7.3%

Mesquite beans: 7.3%

Prickly pear: 6.9%

Cottontail: 6.9%

Unidentified plants: 4.9%

Armadillo: 3.7%

Javelina: 3.2%

Insect: 1.2%

Bobwhite Quail: 0.4%

Skunk: 0.4%

 

RWFM doctoral student Anna Racey’s new publication in the Canadian Journal of Zoology provides unique perspective into the diets of coyotes on a landscape where no native wildlife is managed by harvesting, trapping or supplemental feeding.

“Understanding coyote diet in a system with a lack of human intervention can provide insight into their natural ecological role, a perspective muddled in the context of extrinsic influences,” Racey said.

The research took place at the East Foundation's San Antonio Viejo Ranch in 2022. By analyzing coyote fecal samples collected each month, researchers identified 23 unique prey species, with white-tailed deer and feral hogs as the most common prey item.

“Without an understanding of the diet of coyotes in a natural system, conservationists and livestock ranchers alike cannot anticipate the changes in predator-prey dynamics and ecosystem function that may result from shifts in natural resource management methods,” she said.

Access the study’s full text at https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjz-2024-0120

Texas Wildlife Association | TAMU Chapter of The Wildlife Society | Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society | John M. Tomeček