An unexpectedly quiet spring for the usually predictable ruffed grouse is cause for concern

Ruffed grouse drumming decreased 34% statewide this spring in Wisconsin, according to an annual survey coordinated by the Department of Natural Resources.

Notably, drumming dropped 38% in the northern region, home to the state's best grouse habitat and highest grouse population.

The findings amplified concerns of hunters and wildlife watchers for the native upland bird species that until last fall was thought to be on the upswing in its traditional 10-year population cycle.

"It's disturbing to have the woods so quiet in spring," said Jim Hayett of Hartland, a former national board member of the Ruffed Grouse Society who owns a cabin near Park Falls. 

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For the first time, West Nile Virus was documented in ruffed grouse in Michigan in 2017. No grouse was tested for the disease in Wisconsin last year.

But many fear the disease, spread by mosquitoes and known to kill more than 100 species of birds, was at least partly responsible for lower grouse numbers seen and killed last fall by hunters in the Upper Midwest.

Participants at the national hunt run by the Ruffed Grouse Society in Grand Rapids, Minn., killed a record low number of birds per hunter per hour. Results from the event showed poor survival, or recruitment, of last year's hatch.

Roadside surveys to monitor the number of breeding grouse have been conducted in Wisconsin since 1964 by the DNR, U.S. Forest Service, tribal employees and grouse enthusiasts and volunteers. 

The surveys begin 30 minutes before sunrise and consist of 10 stops at assigned points. Surveyors listen for four minutes at each stop for the distinctive thumping sounds made by drumming male grouse. 

One hundred seventeen routes were used this spring to produce the statewide drumming index, according to the DNR's report.

The 2018 statewide index was 0.63 drums per stop, down from 0.96. In the north, the index fell to 1.28 from 2.06.

Weather conditions influence drumming activity by male grouse, and, despite a late spring and unusual April snows, surveyors rated conditions better in 2018 than in 2017.

Conditions were rated "excellent" on 64% of transects run this spring (compared to 53% in 2017). Only 2% were described as "fair" this spring, the lowest rating.

The 34% statewide drumming downturn included 38% and 29% drops, respectively, in the northern forest and central forest regions, and comes on the heels of two consecutive years of increases.

Ruffed grouse populations are known to rise and fall over a nine to 11-year cycle, and the last peak in Wisconsin's cycle occurred in 2011.

Based on the historical pattern, the stage should have been set for an increase in breeding grouse numbers in 2018.

The decline in breeding grouse was unexpected, as once the cyclic low is reached, Wisconsin normally has a steady increase until the cyclic high in years ending in a 9, 0, or 1, according to the DNR.

"The timing and severity of this decrease is not a pattern Wisconsin has witnessed in past ruffed grouse cycles and will likely take some time to decipher if it was part of the grouse cycle or just an anomaly," the report said.

Wisconsin wildlife officials are participating this year in a regional effort to test the ruffed grouse population for the presence of West Nile Virus. No details have been announced in Wisconsin, but hunters are likely to be included in the sampling regimen.

The Wisconsin ruffed grouse hunting season opens Sept. 15 in Zone A and Oct. 20 in Zone B.

Elk tag winners drawn: The four winners were selected last week in the DNR's drawing for Wisconsin elk hunting tags.

The agency did not release the identities of the winners, but Kevin Wallenfang, DNR deer and elk ecologist, said they were men who ranged in age from the mid-20s to mid-60s and lived in Appleton, Green Bay, Kenosha and Merrill.

It will apparently be the first elk hunt for each, said Wallenfang, who relayed the news to the winners by phone last week.

"One guy's brothers had told him he was wasting his time and money,” Wallenfang said. "But he said he got the last laugh."

About 38,000 people paid $10 each to enter the drawing for the state's first regulated elk hunt. 

Under state rules, the Chippewa tribes were issued five elk tags, the DNR received four and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has one. The RMEF raffle is open to the public through Aug. 11. An unlimited number of $10 tickets is available for purchase.

Visit www.rmef.org/wisconsin to purchase a ticket of for more information.