Life up North: Ruffled Grouse

Let me start out this post by saying there are pictures of a dead bird. I killed that bird, so that I could eat it. I understand that some people are vegetarians and do not believe in eating animals, that is fine. I on the other hand greatly enjoy eating animals, and do not want any negative commentary about my choice and methods in doing so. Thank-you.

September 15th marks the opening of small game season in my WMU (Wildlife Management Unit) in Ontario. Look around town and you can watch the mass exodus of men, women, and children in blaze orange getting in their trucks and heading out of town. While small game includes many different species of animals, ruffled grouse aka "partridge" is the prime target in this neck of the woods.

A ruffled grouse sunning itself on the road.

You may have noticed I refered to this bird as a partridge, it is not. That's local terminology and completely incorrect. A ruffled grouse is not in any way related to a partridge, just want to make sure that's clear.

The grouse is a forest dwelling bird, found across Canada and the Northern United States. These birds are non-migratory and spend their entire lives within a few hectares of where it was hatched. Suprisingly it's not a bird that spends much time in flight, being a primarily ground dwelling species. Since it lives in the thick brush of hardwood forests, the most flying it ever does is really hovering and gliding around.

Ruffled grouse can be found anywhere that alder, mountain ash, poplars, and birch are in abundance. They like to browse on the berries and buds, and nest in the deciduous trees. Being primarily grey, brown, and white in colour they can be extremely hard to spot especially when the leaves are still on the trees. The best way to hunt them is to walk slowly and quietly through thick brush in the forest, listening for movement. Occassionally you may spot a grouse sunning itself on the road, which is a great oppurtunity to snag one but they can be fast in taking off and once camoflauged in the brush again it can be almost impossible to spot one.

People may try to argue with you that hunting the ruffled grouse is not good for the overall population. This is highly untrue. Most hunters, if they are honest with themselves, are drive by hunters. They drive the back roads, old logging trails, and anywhere their ATV can take them. Most of the grouse spotted on these paths are the young, inexperienced birds; the majority of which will die in the winter due to lack of food, shelter, or being hunted by hawks and other predators. The mature, breeding grouse live deeper in the forest where you would need to pick your way through quietly to find them. Hunters work in cooperation with the MNR and respect the bag limit for birds, thus maintaining a healthy population.

If asked, I would say that ruffled grouse is one of my top favourite wild game meats. Some people claim that it has a very gamey taste, but I've successfully replaced it for chicken in many recipes with others not able to tell. Plucking and skinning a grouse is near impossible, their thin skin rips very easily causing endless frustration. I usually completely skin the bird, then either cook it covered in bacon or baste with fat to maintain moisture. So if you have your hunting license, I recommend getting out and finding some grouse for grouse pot pie, roasted grouse with bacon, grouse "nuggets", indian butter grouse...The possibilities are endless.

Now, I'm going to show you two close up pictures of a ruffled grouse we shot this morning. If you do not want to see this, I suggest you don't scroll down any further. It's neither bloody nor gory, I'm not cleaning it. So the choice is yours to make.