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woodsy
12-12-2006, 21:16
With some fresh snow here last friday night, it is prime tracking on the AT and went in to N. Crocker today under sunny skies to see whats roaming around.
It's 10 miles roundtrip so there was plenty of activity evident in the snow.
First off were Bobcat and rabbit tracks then fox. A moose had come galloping down a steep section of trail, slipped on snow covered ledge and went down on his arse cleaning the snow off the trail. About three miles in and 3,000' elevation the deer tracks were everywhere, this is a thick coniferous zone and they will likely 'yard up' in this area if the snow gets real deep. The summit area has 8" of snow and is caked on the trees where it is shaded. On the way back flushed 3 grouse out of trees , they are hanging out in the Mountain ash trees munchin on the red berries.Near the trail head an Owl hooted, probably a Barred Owl. One other set of tracks I wasn't certain of but was possibly a large Coyote. A great day for a hike and checkin out the wildlife activity. This is the only time of year when you can easily see all thats going on out there.:) Oh yeah, the snowshoes came in handy today for traction. Poles helped too.

emerald
12-12-2006, 21:44
You made my day with your post! I never saw so many critters in such a short time and I never even stepped out of my house.

What are these grouse you mentioned?:confused: I know the verb, but you appear to be using grouse as a noun.:-? You say they was eatin mountain ash berries, was they? Whatevah them varmints is, they suah was actin like patridge.;)

woodsy
12-12-2006, 21:53
Ruffed Grouse and Partridge are the same thing aren't they? Could have been Spruce Grouse but they don't usually fly away and didn't get good enugh look at em to know fer sure so called em Grouse.

Lone Wolf
12-12-2006, 22:01
Nope. Different birds.

emerald
12-12-2006, 22:17
Ruffed Grouse and Partridge are the same thing aren't they?

I can't tell one from the other.;)

That's not as funny as the first line of what I lost, but close. Broken connections today. Don't know why. I'm submitting my reply and I'm out of here.

emerald
12-12-2006, 22:21
Well, look who's posted ahead of me and what he's coughed up?:rolleyes::p Roger Tory Peterson hisself!:D

emerald
12-12-2006, 22:24
So, L. Wolf,will you be enlightening us with your ornithological wisdom?

rickb
12-12-2006, 22:25
Look at the grouse! Look at the grouse!

(Nyuk, Nyuk)

woodsy
12-12-2006, 22:29
[quote=Shades of Gray;284595]I can't tell one from the other.;)

I can't either, must be kissin cousins. Thought I'd been shootin Partridge all these years......wonder how many were ruffed grouse :confused:

emerald
12-12-2006, 22:39
I can't tell one from the other.;)

I can't either, must be kissin cousins. Thought I'd been shootin Partridge all these years......wonder how many were ruffed grouse :confused:

You'd better be careful who's within earshot with talk like that. Might be a warden lurking behind that fir tree over there. I hear they once locked up a guy for that. Died in jail, he did.

woodsy
12-12-2006, 22:42
They are the same bird according to wildlife biologist in Maine :http://www.maine.gov/ifw/hunttrap/hunt_management/ruffedgrouse.htm

MOWGLI
12-12-2006, 22:47
Ruffed Grouse and Partridge are the same thing aren't they? C


I can't tell one from the other.;)



This time of year, you can tell them apart pretty easily. The Partridge is the one sitting in the Pear Tree. :banana

woodsy
12-12-2006, 22:55
Those other tracks I wasn't certain of could have been a Lone Wolf:eek:, kinda big for coyote:-?

emerald
12-12-2006, 23:00
So what's new in Kingfield?

woodsy
12-12-2006, 23:04
So what's new in Kingfield?

Poland Springs Bottling co. is moving in.....they are gonna suck the aquifer dry.:(

emerald
12-12-2006, 23:10
This time of year, you can tell them apart pretty easily. The Partridge is the one sitting in the Pear Tree. :banana
Guess that's reliable for field id while participating in Christmas bird counts outside the range of the spruce grouse.:rolleyes:

woodsy
12-12-2006, 23:15
Is it true PA's state bird is the Ruffed Grouse "Partridge"?

emerald
12-12-2006, 23:16
Poland Springs Bottling co. is moving in.....they are gonna suck the aquifer dry.:(

Probably will. Can't say I get the bottled water concept, never did.

People once came from far away to drink the water where I live for its supposed health-restoring properties. The letterhead for my local water authority once claimed theirs was the best water in the Lebanon Valley.

Same water drawn from the same sources today. Yet you go to any of the local supermarkets and there's water from dozens of places around the world. People carry it off as if it's something special.

emerald
12-12-2006, 23:21
Is it true PA's state bird is the Ruffed Grouse "Partridge"?

We don't have any partridge in The Commonwealth, but the ruffed grouse is indeed Pennsylvania's state bird, even when perched in a pear tree.;)

emerald
12-12-2006, 23:30
I enjoyed hunting them although I'm sure I missed more than I hit. The daily limit here is 2. I was responsible for cleaning game harvested by my father and myself.

They appeared to eat only teaberry here at least this time of the year, just the leaves. Never found anything else in the crop of a bird I cleaned.

Jim Adams
12-13-2006, 01:29
there are ruffed grouse (straight across tail, white on neck and tail), sharp tailed grouse (bigger bird, no "ruffed" feathers around the neck, pointed tail) and spruce grouse ( red on the head and dumb as a rock--no natural preditors--they only eat spruce needles and taste horrible). A true partridge is actually in the pigeon and dove familyand is similar to a chukkar.

TJ aka Teej
12-13-2006, 14:30
Most ATers have probably seen more spruce, and heard more ruffed.

weary
12-13-2006, 15:00
[quote=Shades of Gray;284595]I can't tell one from the other.;)

I can't either, must be kissin cousins. Thought I'd been shootin Partridge all these years......wonder how many were ruffed grouse :confused:
It's my guess, exactly 100 percent.

emerald
12-14-2006, 16:50
I can't tell one from the other.;)

I can't either, must be kissin cousins. Thought I'd been shootin Partridge all these years......wonder how many were ruffed grouse :confused:

Woodsy, you been ice fishin' lately? Just wonderin', are the lake trout bitin'?

emerald
12-14-2006, 17:19
Most ATers have probably seen more spruce, and heard more ruffed.

I dare say, most ATers have seen more spruce than grouse, and if it ruffles any feathers to say so, well then so be it!;)

woodsy
12-14-2006, 20:30
Woodsy, you been ice fishin' lately? Just wonderin', are the lake trout bitin'?

Got to have ice to go ice fishin.
I've got more ice in my freezer than most of the lakes have on them.:(
The Trout are getting bigger by the day.:)

emerald
12-14-2006, 21:06
Got to have ice to go ice fishin.
I've got more ice in my freezer than most of the lakes have on them.:(
The Trout are getting bigger by the day.:)

I suppose if you've got fish in your freezer, you won't starve right away.

You say the trout are getting bigger by the day, but what about the togue?;)

woodsy
12-14-2006, 21:28
I suppose if you've got fish in your freezer, you won't starve right away.

You say the trout are getting bigger by the day, but what about the togue?;)
Mainer's catch togue, but no many eat them;)....we're a spoiled lot and prefer the Brook Trout, Landlock Salmon and whitefish:). Maybe that's why Togue get to 15lbs. . On the AT, Brook Trout Rule.:D

emerald
12-14-2006, 21:43
Mainer's catch togue, but not many eat them;)....we're a spoiled lot and prefer the Brook Trout, Landlock Salmon and whitefish:). Maybe that's why Togue get to 15lbs. On the AT, Brook Trout Rule.:D

I once ate togue with some Mainers. They also had brook trout and salmon at the time. I ate a small togue first mostly out of curiosity, but the next fish I ate was either a brook trout or a salmon.

Eating togue is about like eating rainbow trout. There are a number of places where people pay to fish for rainbows around here. I always wondered why they just don't stock the ponds with Atlantic salmon instead.

There was a small pond where I once fished many years ago fed by a small brook that had a population of native brook trout. I don't know if that's still the case. They barely reached the legal size of 6 inches in the brook, but those that found their way into the pond got to be about a foot long. They were some of the most colorful and beautiful fish I ever saw.

emerald
12-14-2006, 21:52
When I first moved to Maine, I heard people talking about togue and didn't know what they were talking about although I soon learned they were talking about lake trout.

I was for some time puzzled by the identity of a hornpout, having never heard that term either. I insisted my friends take me fishing with them the next time they intended to go where they could expect to catch a hornpout. After some time, they did land one and I discovered a hornpout is a bullhead.

emerald
12-14-2006, 22:12
I've never seen a live whitefish or eaten fresh whitefish, only smoked. I just googled some reading material about whitefish located on a server at Orono. Thanks for prompting me to do that. I'm going to educate myself about whitefish tonight.

woodsy
01-27-2007, 22:32
After considering all the tracks I saw on my SOLO hike into N. Crocker(unusual amount) back when I started this thread, add Mink to that list btw, i've come to the conclusion that many of these animals were likely displaced by the forest harvesting operations just to the north in the Stony Brook Valley area.

It appeared that most all of the canopy in that area(thousands of acres) was no longer there(except a few trees of course)) so many animals were seeking cover in the coniferous zones on the ridge in to Crocker and probably on the opposite side of the valley as well, or wherever there is some cover.

The snow I went in on was only three days old but was a field day for anyone into tracking.

Looking forward to getting back in there when temps moderate some, don't know if I dare going solo again though:eek:lol

emerald
01-27-2007, 23:49
Looking forward to getting back in there when temps moderate some, don't know if I dare going solo again though:eek:

You needn't broadcast your hike to the world, if that would make you uncomfortable.;) Don't forget to PM me with your report afterwards, however.

Tip-ups ready for when the weather moderates?

emerald
01-28-2007, 00:41
woodsy, I believe you posted to that Theodore Roosevelt thread a few days ago, didn't you? Did you read his Katahdin Lake journal entry?

If I remember correctly, he saw both partridge and ruffed grouse! He must have been every bit the naturalist I've heard he was if he could distinguish between those two birds.;)

woodsy
01-28-2007, 09:32
[quote=Shades of Gray;311280]You needn't broadcast your hike to the world, if that would make you uncomfortable.;)
/quote]

It's not that it makes me uncomfortable, but after participating in a recent discussion? on said issue, others might be and want to save me from my stupidity.*#@!#* LONERS(could someone check my spelling please).
Yeah sure, i'll drop you a pm.
Too bad about the wildlife losing more habitat , they are really getting squeezed into smaller and smaller pockets all the time back there.:(

On a brighter not, we are seeing more Bald Eagles in the area on a regular basis. Watched one soar over the tree tops at camp recently, they have made a great comeback and enjoy seeing them in #s of three occaisionally.

emerald
01-28-2007, 12:30
You needn't broadcast your hike to the world, if that would make you uncomfortable.;)


It's not that it makes me uncomfortable, but after participating in a recent discussion? on said issue, [it's clear] others might be and want to save me from my stupidity.

I have a great deal of respect for our resident English professor. His command of the English language, his analytical skills, his extensive outdoor experience and his breadth of knowledge to say nothing of his wit are perhaps unequalled here. I'm sure he simply wants to avoid putting the lives of rescue personnel at risk needlessly and to make visiting the backcountry as safe as possible for everyone.

Most people don't have any business above treeline in northern New England in January. There are portions of the White Mountains that are like a magnet to people who love the outdoors and many of these places are easily accessible to everyone.

Many don't realize how dangerous exploring the backcounty can be at this time of the year. Even those who should know better have sometimes overestimated their abilities with tragic results. Given that the weather can change as quickly as it can in the summer, it's not improbable to find oneself in a life-threatening situation in winter without the ability to extract oneself from it.

Perhaps it's best to not encourage this type of activity or at least do everything possible to make people aware of its risks and how to minimize them. Analyzing how fatalities occur and the sort of discussion in which you participated is one way how WhiteBlaze.net can do it's part.


Too bad about wildlife losing more habitat, they are really getting squeezed into smaller and smaller pockets all the time back there.:(

Thank God for the foresight of those who saw the need for an A.T. corridor and brought it into being. We would be much poorer as a society without it and so would the wildlife that depends upon it.

woodsy
01-28-2007, 15:28
[QUOTE]Thank God for the foresight of those who saw the need for an A.T. corridor and brought it into being. We would be much poorer as a society without it and so would the wildlife that depends upon it.

That's what I was thinking too!
The Moose are also very fond of the AT in winter, as the snow deepens(some winters) they use the trail as part of their other network of trails. It's easy for them to get around on. In the spring, hikers often find themselves walking on a trail of Moose dung.