Posted by Rohn B. McKee on January 25, 2009 at 4:48 PM
I'm seeking know how information from Avian photographers who have successfully photographed spring mating drumming of the male Ruff Grouse. How did you do it? Any examples of photographs?
I tried this several years ago without great sucess but can offer the following based on my mistakes:
1.First, find a drumming log. The one I found was about 16" in diameter and about 2 feet off the ground. It was recogonzable because the moss in the center portion of the log was packed down. I had heard the grouse drumming in the area and seen him fly previously so I had a good idea which log was the drumming log.
2. I set up a blind but set it too close. My blind ws about 10 feet away but I would recommend at least 20-25 feet.
3. I got to the blind about 3:00 am. I watched the grouse a few times before I tried photos. I also kept a record of what time he started drumming, how long he drummed, and when he left.
4. The grouse was amazing. It hopped up on the log, strutted from end to end, put his head down and started drumming. Often it was too dark for a photo. Once, he saw a slight movement from the blind and left the area.
5. On some days, he would hop on small sticks (2" in diameter) on the forest floor and drum from those. These sticks were behind the blind and hard to observe/photograph.
6. When he was on the smaller sticks, he was obscured by brush-hence no good photographs.
7. Some photographers say that once they start drumming you can get pretty close. This was not my experience.
8. Wait until the grouse leaves the area before leaving the blind otherwise he may not come back.
9. Since I worked on this project, the local grouse population has declined to such a point as to be nonexistant so I have not continued this project.
All in all, it was a great project and I enjoyed watching the grouse even though I did not get any good pictures. I am glad I did it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.
Discussion
1 repliesI tried this several years ago without great sucess but can offer the following based on my mistakes:
1.First, find a drumming log. The one I found was about 16" in diameter and about 2 feet off the ground. It was recogonzable because the moss in the center portion of the log was packed down. I had heard the grouse drumming in the area and seen him fly previously so I had a good idea which log was the drumming log.
2. I set up a blind but set it too close. My blind ws about 10 feet away but I would recommend at least 20-25 feet.
3. I got to the blind about 3:00 am. I watched the grouse a few times before I tried photos. I also kept a record of what time he started drumming, how long he drummed, and when he left.
4. The grouse was amazing. It hopped up on the log, strutted from end to end, put his head down and started drumming. Often it was too dark for a photo. Once, he saw a slight movement from the blind and left the area.
5. On some days, he would hop on small sticks (2" in diameter) on the forest floor and drum from those. These sticks were behind the blind and hard to observe/photograph.
6. When he was on the smaller sticks, he was obscured by brush-hence no good photographs.
7. Some photographers say that once they start drumming you can get pretty close. This was not my experience.
8. Wait until the grouse leaves the area before leaving the blind otherwise he may not come back.
9. Since I worked on this project, the local grouse population has declined to such a point as to be nonexistant so I have not continued this project.
All in all, it was a great project and I enjoyed watching the grouse even though I did not get any good pictures. I am glad I did it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.
Good luck on your project.
William Palmer
Ashland, MO