Close, Enjoyable Encounters With Ruffed Grouse Nosey the ruffed grouse, who befriended the Lukeses because they give her snacks of crushed walnuts. It was during the summer of 1977, while working at the Ridges Sanctuary at Baileys Harbor, that I received one of the most unusual animal descriptions from some visitors that I had ever heard. The tourists had quite excitedly returned to the nature center with an incredible story. According to them, a young turkey had just attacked them on the trail and did not let up with its onslaught until they had been driven away. I pieced the information together as best I could and it soon became apparent what had happened. An unsuspecting ruffed grouse hen and her chicks were surprised by the hikers. What very likely took place, in sequence, during the next several seconds, was the hen sounded her warning cry and the young immediately hid motionlessly among the dried fallen leaves on the ground. Next she puffed out her body feathers, extended her tail feathers in that renowned fan-shape, and flew fearlessly at the dangerous humans. Her bluff worked perfectly, sending the intruders away from her most prized and only possessions, her downy, defenseless young. Two adult ruffed grouse performed for me on the same trail around mid-September that year. They behaved as though they were unaware of my presence as they fought vigorously with each other. Their sparring match consisted of running at each other, then jumping into the air with both feet extended forward, wings flailing rapidly. Neither appeared to be winning. Perhaps it was a practice bout preparatory to the real thing the following spring, or it may have involved a claim to the lush stands of highbush cranberry shrubs nearby. Come winter the seeds of those plump fruits would rank high as an emergency food in helping to balance their winter diet. Summer poses little problem to ruffed grouse in regards to their food. One of the most abundant plants, yet least conspicuous and known by people, produces some of the most sought-after seeds and greenery, the tiny cow wheat, Melampyrum lineare. Jewelweed seeds and black cherries rank as two of their favorites. Fruit of the bearberry, bunchberry, partridge-berry and sarsaparilla are included in their primarily vegetarian diet. Along comes winter, many of the grouses’ food plants are suddenly covered by snow and now these hardy birds are forced to change their diet. One of their primary foods now will be the male buds on quaking aspens that are around 30 to 40 years old. Research has shown that the male buds are considerably more nutritious than are the female buds. I have also seen grouse actively budding on sugar maple, apple, and serviceberry trees and the catkins of hazelnut shrubs. The first hen ruffed grouse that I ever encountered and could positively identify greatly increased my appreciation of these marvelous birds. Having mated, the female will construct a shallow nest on the ground usually against an obstacle such as a log or even a steep bank. The encounter occurred in what I call the Christmas Fern Woods near Ellisville in western Kewaunee County. I had been taking a count of those rare ferns in about the last week of May and was making my way up a steep slope in the hardwoods. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks and found myself staring straight at the beady black eye of a hen grouse, no more than five feet away, sitting on her eggs. It was obvious that she was instinctively trusting her marvelous camouflage. However, her dark glistening eye revealed her presence. I admired her great courage, slowly took one more step toward her and nearly had my hat taken off by her get-away, a nerve-shattering explosion of feathered lightning. I was able to follow her speedy exit in a long curving arc for about 75 yards as she cackled excitedly all the way. There were a dozen creamy-buff eggs in the nest. Today a new hen ruffed grouse, who we call "Nosey," has entered our lives. She has become the tamest of all the grouse we have known since we began living in our Houby Hill Woods 18 years ago. We call her Nosey because of her inquisitiveness. Either she struts along the roof of our solar collector and peers through the picture window into our living room, or she walks back and forth on the deck outside our south kitchen windows often pausing to look in at our activities. How patiently she waits for her daily pre-dawn and dusk handouts of crushed walnuts. Charlotte can easily approach her to within a foot or less, and surely one of these days Nosey will be eating from her hand. The bird may appear to be conditioned to people but nevertheless remains constantly on the alert, an extremely wary creature. What rare and exciting Christmas adventures Nosey has brought into our lives. We can only hope you are so fortunate to have a grouse around the house! Also see: 01/30/98: A Grouse Named Reggie 04/30/99: Another Tale of the Indominitable Grouse 12/22/00: The Ruffed Grouse Sets a Good Example More information on this topic is available at: Everything about grouse from the Mining Co. This column appeared in the Door County Advocate on 12/29/2000. © Copyright 2000 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.