Pennsylvania's State Bird
Click on ruffed grouse to view information provided by Pennsylvania Game Commission.
I'll never tire of seeing ruffed grouse or partridge as they are more apt to be called in New England.
Perhaps the single experience that stands out most in my memory occurred in Maine's Bigelow Preserve. As I drove along East Flagstaff Road, I saw a partridge fly from a pine to the road below and I slowed down.
Almost immediately after the partridge set down on the road ahead of me, a hawk swooped down upon it, killed it and began to eat it. As the scene unfolded before my eyes, I came to a stop and watched for what must have been more than 5 minutes before the hawk flew off with its prey.
I've watched accipiters eat song birds, but never before or since have I seen what I saw that day in the wilds of Maine.
Last edited by emerald; 10-02-2007 at 16:32. Reason: Removed bad link.
More humorously, I've flushed a grouse from the trail and as its trademark rapid ascent was beginning its flight path squarely intersected an 18" dbh tree about 15 feet away. It got up again and flew off but not quite as rapidly as before and certainly not the same direction.
YEah, they can startle ya........I still think that the state insect the best. The Firefly.....I've never seen'm prettier then in PA. And I am biased......the kids in my elementary school were the ones who decided that we needed a state bug
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose............................................ ...
Strong and content I travel the open road
~Walt Whitman Song of the open road
Just leave the old ones alone!
Sounds like a Goshawk.Originally Posted by Shades of Gray
'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~
I love the Ruffed Grouse
"Plans to protect air, water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man."
yup. good eatin'
I think the hawk that killed the partridge was a buteo, perhaps a broad-wing, but what I described happened many years ago.
Do you think a broad-wing would be capable of killing and flying off with a partridge?
I do, but what do I know.
How's migration down there? Busy here in Acadia.
Will be good watching once the leaves drop.
Don't know. Haven't been paying attention. Go to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's homepage to view the count.
Last edited by emerald; 10-02-2007 at 19:46.
Cool site. Thank you!
Thought you might like that one had you not seen it before. Someday you must visit and tell me beforehand when you expect be here.
Last edited by emerald; 10-03-2007 at 18:31.
Pats
if'n you can hit 'em. Always miss them with the bow, feathers just don't fill you up..
"For me, it is better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
Carl Sagan
The drumming is the best.
.....Someday, like many others who joined WB in the early years, I may dry up and dissapear....
[quote=Shades of Gray;417498]I'll never tire of seeing ruffed grouse or partridge as they are more apt to be called in New England.
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I accidentally hiked between a momma grouse and her chicks one day on the trail. Have heard stories about how dangerous it is to get between a momma and baby bear but lemme tell ya ...that momma grouse spread her wings and started flappin them as she charged towards me. Scared the bejeebers out of me.
'Slogger
The more I learn ...the more I realize I don't know.
I was walking my maintenence-section of trail on Monday (just south of Wm. Penn shelter) and flushed one from no more than 5 feet away - scared me half to death!
I grew up in Western Pa and wondered why the ring neck pheasant wasn't the state bird. A crisp autumn day, a freshly harvested cornfield and a German Shorthair Pointer. Perfect.
It's a non-native. The species is from Asia.
'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~
I heard lots of Grouse at Grateful Dead shows.
'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~
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