[fishandhunt]

How many people out there actually check the crops to see what the grouse are feeding on?

This photo shows quite a variety of the grouses favorites, how many can you identify, or better yet, know where they grow in your area?

 

[gregm]

Hey, this is a great question and can really help out newbies to the Grouse Game (like me!!!) I have an idea of what some of the forage is, but not all of it. At some point, someone please post the "answer" with a description.

Thanks.

 

[Huntin Horseman]

Acorns, black berries, and either maple leaves or dandalions?

 

[otown]

Nice pic.
Have no idea what they eat this year. It varies with the season.
Recommend "Grouse of the North Shore".
Definitive book on what, when and where grouse do what they do. Learned more from that book than I did in 50 years of hunting and 'bar talk'.

o town

 

[NATTY BUMPO]

F&H,

Hey, nice pic but pretty tuff to identify this stuff from a small pic. Here goes anyway (be sure to give us the correct answers later)

Red berries- Hawthorn, Autumn Olive or Flowering Dogwood

Nuts- Acorns? Beechnuts?

Green forbs- Clover is a favorite but grouse will pick at almost anything green!

Gotta be some grit in there as well.

Natty B.

PS Any apple pieces in there??

 

[otown]

Nice to see Ruark quoted.
Grew up with him, Corey Ford, Ted Trueblood and some others.
Ruark once had Bob Maytag and his wife on safari and said he got as big a kick of watching someone else do what he had done over the years as doing it himself. Killed enough elephants, lions and leopards and it's enough.
I've outlived him. Wonder what he would have given us with 10 more years of writing. Gene Hill picked up the baton and ran with it.
Mountain ash and olives.

o town

 

[fishandhunt]

This particular grouse was shot in late October. The main food in the crop is both wintergreen berries (red) and leaves (vivid green), pin oak acorns (smaller acorn with lines hull) and some wild grapes (dried.)

 

[otown]

Missed by a mile.

o town

 

[chromium]

Great post Mike.

Glad to see you're feeling better!!

 

[Zeboy]

Are you telling us that everything on that plate came from the crop of 1 grouse??? Wow that was a BIG grouse. There's at least 75 berries in the photo and that doesn't even include the acorns or the leaves.

 

[fishandhunt]

Zeboy:

Everything came from the one grouse. I'll tell you he wasn;t the swiftest flyer

Chromium, Thanks!

 

[bonasachasa]

grouse are like goats they eat just about everything,they do like to eat what is available and ripe in the area they occupy, but i have harvested 5 grouse in a day all with different foods in the crop. the north woods offer a very wide range of foods, yes i check the crop on almost every bird but dont put alot of wieght in its contents as i can usually look around and guess whats in the crop before i open it.and otown are you still pushing that grouse of the north shore book!?!?!?!? before anyone drives themselves crazy trying to find it it is now published under the title THE RUFFED GROUSE by Gordon Gullion published by northword press

 

[otown]

Yep, best grouse book I've seen. Didn't know they changed the title but would guess it has some added material, maybe a lot.
I'll check it out.

o town