This column is being written from On the Wing Grouse Camp in far northern New York. Laney joined me Sunday for the 250-mile drive and it is her first time as the lone bird dog. Her “sister,” fellow French Brittany Dinah, was not physically unable to perform, a condition which the National Football League refers to as PUP.
Almost 15 years old, Dinah had made the trip every year, and when this writer was doing a lot of guiding, it was Dinah’s hard work that earned me all those generous tips. She was an energetic, driving bird dog who had no quit in her. She was easy to direct and worked close and was blessed with a great nose. She made a lot of friends and fans. However, above all, she was my companion and we got out to covers as often as we could. It really breaks my heart as this column unfolds to think that her days of busting through thick cover and displaying the drive and athleticism, she became famous for are over.
Meanwhile, Laney has had a really good week thus far and she has hunted long and hard, finding and pointing woodcock and a few grouse. Monday and Tuesday, limits of three woodcock came early and we quit Wednesday a bird short but that was fine. The woodcock are fileted and saved to be used as hors d’oeuvres at the dinner Saturday night as part of a great meal that is included as part of the New York Ruffed Grouse Society hunt, a fund-raiser for the organization. The Ruffed Grouse Society and its partner organization, the American Woodcock Society work to unite conservationists to improve wildlife habitat and forest health. Since 1961, RGS has promoted stewardship for our forests, our wildlife, and our future. The vision is to create landscapes of diverse, functioning forest ecosystems that provide homes for wildlife and opportunities for people to experience them.
On the group’s website you can find out about the work, particularly in the Northeast. The decline of young forest and early successional habitats throughout the Northeast U.S. has been identified as a dire issue for decades. Wildlife that are highly dependent on diverse forest habitats in New York and New England have suffered severe population declines. Golden-winged warblers, ruffed grouse, American woodcock, snowshoe hare, whip-poor-will, and even moose are bellwethers of a much broader decline in forest habitat diversity.
The RGS/AWS model is founded on a “shifting mosaic” approach to restore forest health and improve habitat. Functionally, the RGS priority is to implement wildlife-friendly, sustainable forestry across large compartments known as Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks (DFRBs) that range from a few thousand acres up to large landscape level blocks. They will also work to support these conditions broadly across the Northeast region with our public and private land partners and supporters. Public wildlife management areas, state and federal forests, community forests, family ownerships, municipal watersheds, large scale timberland properties and land trust holdings can all play a pivotal role in this approach.
This weekend, more than 30 hunters will participate in the two-day hunt. Volunteers, like myself, will guide them in the covers that are managed by selective cutting to create habitat that is favorable to many species of wildlife including grouse and woodcock. Biologists will be on hand to review the harvest and birds can be aged and sexed to create a data file that over time can be used to measure population dynamics. This year, a Cornell University team will be checking the grouse taken for West Nile Disease. In Pennsylvania, West Nile Disease has had a significant impact on grouse numbers and an ongoing study is underway to determine what can be done.
This writer has been a “huntsman” for this event since its inception and many of the hunters return every year. They willingly pay to enjoy the hunt but all take pride in the fact that the money goes to such a respected conservation cause.
It does not appear that there will any flights of migrating woodcock this weekend and the conditions that seem to spark that have not yet taken place. Warm winds from the south are certainly not going to make that happen. There are geese appearing in numbers and some robins, but it will take something drastic, like a huge cold front, to really get migration underway. Laney and I will be back in Massachusetts by then.
Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.