Ruffed Grouse - Some Birds Sing, Other's Drum -Did You Know Birding?( episode 12)

Ruffed grouse may come off as pretty silly birds but they are actually really interesting and cool. From their unique drumming behavior in Spring and Fall to their habit of plunging themselves into the snow creating snow tunnels, sometimes as much as 10 feet, they are sure to impress. Learn more in my recent Did You Know Birding episode, Ruffed Grouse. There is plenty of nice footage for you to enjoy as you gain more knowledge of this fascinating chicken-like bird.
Music by
Rainbows Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Life of Riley Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Also find LesleytheBirdNerd here:
------------------------------------
Twitter Page
/ thebirdsnerd
Instagram
/ lesleythebirdnerd
Shop LesleytheBirdNerd Prints
-----------------------------
Etsy Shop
www.etsy.com/shop/LesleyTheBirdNerd
Use coupon code KZbin for 10% off total purchase at Etsy checkout
Facebook Page
/ lesleythebirdnerdprints

[@DukeCannon]

My Grandmother was a huge birdwatcher. She actually taught every child all the birds in North America. Once I saw a bird I didn't recognize, we got out the book. Ruffled Grouse. We were very happy that day. It's the simple things.

[@nancyaustin9516]

I've seen this misspelling before, so you're not the only one--it's "ruffed" not "ruffled".

[@RespectableRSYt]

They're a fun bird to hunt. We often get dozens of them roosting around the farm during the spring and summer, we protect them from the dogs and preditors so we can hunt them come fall.

[@maxshenkwrites]

It's so odd that I grew up in Pennsylvania, where the ruffed grouse is the state bird, but I never saw or heard one till I was in my 40s, living in rural Vermont!

[@GetToKnowNature]

The footage of the grouse drumming is just wonderful.

[@troyclayton]

As a kid, the source of the drumming was a mystery to me. After realizing no one was on a Harley out in the woods, I knew it had to be an animal. It took me decades to find out what, now I love to get people to guess what we're hearing. Thanks for the video, I so loved the footage and the information. I've only seen one a couple times, and it's hardly fair because hearing them is one of the things that makes me feel like I know a place.

[@موسى_7]

Those birds look very scritchable!

[@sjmadsen34]

I had one that was visiting my Bird feeders one winter. This one was not scared of me at all because I was able to stand close and watch it eat sunflower seeds off the ground!! I took some nice pictures too!!

[@dungteller367]

Thank you for this, it was really informative and enjoyable. It was late September and I was living in rural NE Pa.upon arriving home there was a grouse attracted to my car. I parked in my normal spot and got out of the car the grouse came near me and I approached it causing it to retreat. I thought that was a bit odd. Thereafter the grouse was there seemingly waiting for me everyday. I would go out on the porch and the grouse would come by me and we would visit for a while, I named him Woody. I actually picked him up, it was amazing. This went on for several weeks and one day he just stopped coming around. I am now living in NH and there are grouse around our house, they are part of nature making it even more beautiful and alluring.

[@gswovoka6286]

Thanks for that! I always wanted to see one drumming. I love the little rush one gets when a Ruffed Grouse jumps up in front of you when walking in the woods! Thanks again!

[@tomgoss9765]

One of my favourite birds. In the spring when we are fishing it is considered good luck to hear them drum.

[@gatorgityergranny]

nice to see, in the midst of this current polar onslaught, a bird who looks to have great cold weather skills. it is hard not to worry about your bird friends, Lesley.

[@sammalone9527]

great video..thunder chickens rock!!!!

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Thanks !

[@jasonolmsted6123]

In northern Michigan a lot of people call them pats, short for partridge. Of course we know they are really grouse.

[@trinityrandt2333]

I had a strange encounter with a ruffed grouse. I live in a wooded area and a couple of years ago I was on my tire swing with my friend and then all of the sudden a grouse comes out from the woods. It's wasn't being aggressive, in fact it was quite friendly. We tried feeding it but it didn't want food. It hung out with us for the rest of the evening and then we never saw it again. It was very strange.

[@johnconner2206]

I've had them follow me when walking on a game trail......strange, but it does happen........ Some times I think they are lonely?

[@jammcc176]

Spooking a ruffed grouse while walking in the woods is a test of the nervous system. The unseen bird waits until it has determined that the human is too close -- then it noisily launches itself into the air. Before the brain can process "Oh, it's only a grouse," the heart has jumped into the throat! Even so, it's an experience I miss now that I do not live in grouse country.

[@chriswilder100]

what a fantastic video ! I had my first encounter yesterday with a grouse and came home and found this video . thank you for sharing .

[@sarahm2878]

I used to think this noise was someone who would not give up on trying to start their tractor.

[@jonathanwalda811]

I will never forget the first time I heard one of them drumming so much I didn't know about them thank you 🙂

[@rezkid283]

In Minnesota we hear them all the time

[@SW13333]

Thanks Lesley!There aren't Ruffled Grouse where I live. This is new and very interesting.👍 When they dive into the snow to make a tunnel - no footprints for predators to see or smell. - Stephanie

[@gordroberts53]

I did not know the drumming was the result of airflow and the resulting vacuum pockets caused by the beating of the wings. I've seen drumming males a couple of times and thought it something like clapping one's hands and wondered if it hurt :-). I learn something from every video. Thanks for sharing!

[@bighugo6251]

I’m very glad about the inclusion of grouse in this video. That’s something that can’t be said about Ultimate Duck Hunting

[@GnuReligion]

First 3 seconds ... Now I know what that sound is in the woods! People have told me it is a rabbit, thumping in alarm. No. A nesting hen has charged me, then dove to the side, limping like it was injured.

[@samhaines8228]

these guys are pretty neat. I remember the first time I heard and felt that drumming in the woods...impressive! really propagates through the air trees and ground. your love and fascination with all feathered creatures really comes though in these vids: thanks for sharing!

[@benny_lemon5123]

I hear these guys trying to start their crummy old lawnmowers frequently around my house 😂

[@MrWuTang]

I see these allll the time and they have always been my favorite

[@luifalcon]

I could listen & watch your videos for hours, days anytime all the time! Thank you!

[@tvmjr42]

Thank You for all your have posted, doing searched for ruffed grouse drumming and came across your KZbin channel. Here in Western Pennsylvania we have lost this lovely little bird. I was hoping this spring to get out so my daughters out so we would have a chance to hear is sound, the male drumming. I took for granted the sound I use to hear every spring work on fence along the wood edges. The last time I saw one was in the pines in the yard at the farm. Like I was given the gift of watching this bird for the last time. Watching as it flowed through the edges of low pines and under brush, of bar-berries and forsythias, think back to when I was young and was able to go out at just about any direction and jump these little birds. Been many many years since I have jumped a covey ruffed grouse and thinking those days are long gone. Thanks for teaching and showing the Black-Capped Chickadee, that's a seat heart of a little bird. As I get time I hope be able to watch more of you videos. Have a Good One !!

[@canabox7112]

I am so sorry I used to hunt these when I was young. They did taste good though

[@davem4193]

The grouse is known as "king of the game birds" because they are so difficult to hunt.

[@TheBigMclargehuge]

Maybe Pennsylvania grouse are stupid because you can pick them up if you're fast.

[@Kayceesoutdoorliving]

I've been hunting ruffs in Pennsylvania for about 6 years. I've harvested 2 and maybe fired 10 or 15 shots at grouse. they are hands down the most difficult bird I've personally hunted to get a shot at. it could be argued it's harder to hit a dove but in my experience hunting grouse (without a dog) the challenge for Pennsylvania hunters is getting the shot opportunity. you gotta be fast, and you need to have a properly fitting shotgun that you shoot well because if you get the chance you need to take it and make the most of it. Pennsylvanias terrain makes it tough too most of the time I'm shooting into brush with a lighter shot size to maximize chances of a kit. the birds are pretty fragile you only need a few pellets to knock them down especially if you shoot 4, 5, or 6 shot. early season 7 shot is a good option for the brushy conditions. in Pennsylvania we have abundant nest predator populations raccoon, skunks, and opossums are more than likely to be a number 1 predator to these birds. west Nile virus has decimated populations of grouse here as well. everyone wants to blame the Fishers for the declines in grouse and turkeys but wont look at west Nile virus as a cause.

[@occams_chainsaw]

They're easy picking here in Ontario

[@Drgunzo616]

​@@Kayceesoutdoorliving yeah getting them on the wing is tricky. Flushing them and being able to get a shot off before they are gone isn't easy. I've found it easier to determine where they are and just sit. Better for them to be walking than you to be walking.

[@jillforsthoefelgrant3013]

Wonderful video! Thank you for researching and distilling the essentials for us with beautiful videos. What a fascinating bird, with so many evolutionary benefits, yet with such a low life expectancy. It's so short! I wish we had them here! I'll live vicariously through your experiences and reports though. Thanks again!

[@calska140]

I heard that exact drumming noise whilst really high in the woods once. I thought I was being stalked by a skinwalker. Don't do drugs kids .

[@q-man762]

The drumming sounds just like a old lawnmower slowly starting to run. In the fall they will do something called crazy flight and often hit widows, it disperses the brood. I once found a dead grouse on my picnic table below my rv picture window and at first I thought it was a strange message left by someone, then I noticed a tuft of feathers on the window, the bird had flown at the reflection full speed.

[@grayghost1352]

Thunder chicken:)

[@2btpatch]

I learned some new things from this video - the winter foot adaptation and the snow tunneling. Thanks for the great presentation. I live in the Boreal forest in Canada. Just now it is spring and I can hear the ruffed grouse drumming every day, and I often see them, so it was nice to supplement my knowledge with this.

[@samueldasnher3482]

Wow...err,,, WOAH!! A Good When Roasted Sunshade! Hmmm?!

[@mjadams3731]

Well done! Beautiful filming and interesting context about this grouse. Thank you.....

[@yvonnerogers6429]

Go, state bird of PA, go! 💯👍🏻❤️🙏🧼

[@JapaneseCityPopCat]

Very informative and well out together as usual, Lesley! :)

[@troubleclef]

Your programs are great. I learned a lot. Haven't seen or heard one of these guys in years.

[@alasdairmackintosh]

I live in Saskatchewan, the provincial bird here is the sharp tailed grouse

[@randysmith6747]

very interesting ...well done ! I live in the mountains of Southwest Virginia and we have Ruffed Grouse here as well .

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Thank You, Randy.

[@dennismoore9201]

I do too,but grouse are very rare to find now.Don't know what has happened to the population.I'm 62,and when I was growing up,They were every where.Just like our Bob whites,haven't heard or saw one in 7 or 8 years.

[@lesliemoiseauthor]

Especially about the chicks. Consider me gobsmacked.

[@toddberg3892]

Nice video! Very fun to watch in the Winter as they slowly walk through the snow to the feeder. We had one try to tunnel into snow but hit our window instead (likely saw the reflection, plus may have been a bit intoxicated by eating cherry buds.) About a week later another one did the same thing! We added a coarse mesh to the windows and it hasn't happened since. Who'da thunk?

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Really? Wow. Good thing you put up that mesh. I rarely get them to my feeders. Would love it if they did.

[@keefry]

THUNDER CHICKEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

HahahHahaha Awesome right?!😂

[@javierbiaggi3072]

@@LesleytheBirdNerd good name for a Fast Food. I like The video a lot.

[@lesliemoiseauthor]

Wow. I always learn so much from your channel.

[@na-yp4xq]

What an interesting bird.

[@stickshaker101]

I'm shocked that I was 50 before I learned their wings don't hit their chests when they drum!

[@bethshadowen904]

Thank you for the informative vid Enjoying your channel

[@trinalittlefield6294]

The hunters in Maine refer to these birds as "Partridge" so I'm just learning what they actually are now lol thank you for the informative video! I will have to look for their snow tunnels the next time I go tracking 🙂. (I'm not a hunter, just a really into wildlife ❤)

[@James-of1hs]

Excellent video thank you for making it.

[@mattchrome6643]

Fascinating birds!

[@PTuffduty]

what an awesome video. you have a special talent.

[@hotsulsfishingaddictions]

great video,thanks. would be nice to see something about spruce grouse and sharp-tailed grouse. thanks ,great work.

[@deborahnickrand4538]

I learned plenty...thank you!!

[@284rem]

Awesome Bird

[@joelgperry9719]

On the point of them being solitaire in the fall during hunting season they are almost always in groups so if hunting always wait to see if there are more seeing as they usually don’t fly off after the first shot

[@blueskeye]

Wonderful and informative video Lesley :O)

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Thank you

[@westervonburgermeister9877]

Great video, very informative.

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Thank you

[@lm2017]

Beautiful footage and very educational, thanks for sharing!

[@stepananokhin693]

Dinosaurus!

[@geraldmarks5880]

The only thing I would like to know more about it about after they hatch out . I seen multiple broods together with their mother . You can hear the moms calling to them . Seen this at my cabin while planting potatoes.

[@yolazerbeam3205]

It's funny how so many people call them partridge. Even my dad teaching me as a small boy in the forest. Later on I would explain to him that these are not partridge but grouse. He would laugh at me (and still does) telling me that he's called it partridge his whole life and he's not going to start changing the word now. In any case a beautiful description of the grouse in this video. I often observe them enjoying young leaves in the canopies of trembling aspen in spring. It is quite impressive how they are able to devour the young leaf all in one swift movement. It is also importent to note not to stand directly underneath them in a tree as I've found out the hard way.

[@mhwp3286]

"You wanna fight??!!"

[@panah8394]

Mother Nature invented the pelvic thrust.

[@collettedobrocke5585]

Thanks..I didn't know anything about this type of bird

[@markpaul8178]

My father was shooting squirrels a little distance from me.A grouse came out and flogged me several times.I was terrified and would not turn around,but finally I did.I was afarid 2 tell my father I was jumped by a chicken.when I went 2 school and saw a grouse in a book I knew then what it was.

[@Emjay1306]

nice video, you should try doing waterfowl or herons and allies. more specifically a did you know birding on canada geese.

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will definitely add it to the list

[@mr.celery4685]

little ball of floof

[@markpaul8178]

U have no more than 2 seconds 2 shoot a grouse when it is flushed up.They will also in that 2 seconds fly between a tree and the shooter 2 keep u from getting a clear shot.Back in 1970 my father sit me down in the Tennessee mountains and left me 4 a little while.He was

[@natesgarage5956]

Do a video on the eastern bittern

[@MrJakeKale]

They should've made the scientific name Brontogallus (thunder chicken in Latin - I don't know it, I'm just a dinosaur nerd)!

[@steveg8322]

Thunder chickens!

[@steveg8322]

Thanks for the ❤️,I often see them while out trout fishing here in Massachusetts.Heart stopping drumming if come upon suddenly.They adorn the emblem of our state’s Wildlife Agency. The trout btw are native brook trout as much jewelry as their avian kin.All those caught are safely returned after admiring them briefly.Happy Holidays,enjoy your channel immensely.

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Heart stopping yes! Same to you and thankyou

[@rickmandrey6760]

Central NH resident w/14 acres. Enjoyed the annual ruffed grouse rituals since 2009. This year is kinda weird. No thumping, yet see the Grouse visit my driveway consistently early evening. Is it a female? Is it a male, and unfortunately there are no females nearby? Why the no thumping???? any insight would be appreciated.

[@Elon_Trump]

if a turkey and a chicken had a baby ...

[@andysmith8544]

Is Don Leopold, horticulturist at ESF SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry a descendent of Aldo Leopold?

[@hedmeddig]

Chunky bird

[@hedmeddig]

they so fat :D

[@ResistTheNonsense]

Are you form Newfoundland?

[@pastaroni8683]

GROUSE?

[@LesleytheBirdNerd]

Sorry maybe I am misunderstanding something here but Im not sure what you are asking. Spelling? if so. it is correct www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruffed_Grouse/id#

[@grayghost1352]

You say it as gross it's grouse

[@granthoffman151]

aboot