A GOOD LUNCH, AND A LOT OF EXCUSES

THE ONLY THING IN DELTA...

...A REAL  DINER

ONE OF DOZENS OF PRETTY LITTLE  POTHOLE LAKES IN THE DELTA AREA

Monday, 8:00 AM.  42 degrees F at the ferry dock, 37 on the back porch.  Wind SW, with occasional light gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity 64% and the barometer is still falling, presaging rain by tonight.  It is a nice morning, and we are off to Ashland for dentist, doctor and other routine maintenance tasks all day.

   Yesterday was a cool but bright and beautiful day, that literally demanded that we go somewhere.  To please all three of us (myself, Joan and Buddy) we decided to drive some back roads looking for grouse, with our ultimate destination being the Delta Diner for a late lunch.  Delta is about an hour's meandering drive southwest of Bayfield via backroads and Chequamegon National Forest Road #236. The diner is the only thing in Delta, there being not so much else as an abandoned building.  I have written before about the Delta Diner and won't be repetitious, so use the blog search engine for further information on its history, etc.  

   Suffice it to say that the diner is a unique eatery with a unique menu, and today it did not disappoint.  I am not a "foodie," but will tell you unequivocally that the egg-Asiago cheese-bacon-Brussel sprout omelet was the most delicious I have ever eaten.

  However, the main objective of the outing for Buddy and me was to find a grouse, which have been scarcer than, shall we say, "grouse teeth" this season.  We have only seen a few so far, and have not even gotten a shot (we are not a threat to the grouse population).  Mostly we have heard grouse, that startling rush of wings, and very little even of that.      The grouse population of a region, often of a whole state or larger area, is subject to a periodic cycle of nine to eleven years, from literally a population boom to a complete bust.  On the one hand, it is very frustrating for the hunter and his dog, as really good grouse hunting comes around only a relatively few times in a hunter's lifetime, and only once or twice in the life of his dog.

   One the other hand, the grouse population cycle provides a ready excuse for not seeing or downing the wary, hard to hit avian targets.  "Didn't get a bird!  Bottom of the population cycle, I guess."  An excuse rather comparable to, "The dog ate my homework." Both excuses are very suspect, but hard for most skeptics to disprove.

   Anyway, we saw no grouse on the way to the Delta Diner.  But afterwards, driving the forest roads around this region of pristine little pothole lakes, we suddenly came upon our elusive quarry, walking across  a sandy back road.  Now here are my initial excuses for what then transpired:  

   1.  I had to get the gun out and load it.

   2.  I had to put on my blaze orange cap and vest.

   3.  I had to put the bell colar on Buddy.

   4.  I do not shoot birds on the ground (this is true, it is not sporting and is dangerous).

   To continue: the bird flew as I got out of the truck, I totally unprepared.  It flew into the woods about fifty yards up to the top of a steep ridge.  After stopping to assess the situation and taking a quick pee, Buddy, to his great credit, caught the bird's scent and bounded up the hill, and assumed a perfect point at the crest of the ridge.

   Now here are the rest of my excuses.

   5.  I had eaten too much for lunch and found walking up the steep hill to be quite difficult.

   6.  There was a lot of slash on the ground and I kept tripping over it.

   7.  I couldn't make it the last few yards up the steep grade and told Buddy to flush the bird.

   8.  The bird flushed over the top of the ridge and I couldn't get a shot.

   9.  The  setting sun was in my eyes.

  Something of a misadventure perhaps,  but we now know where that grouse lives, and we shall return and claim him for the frying pan.

Ruffed grouse management In Wisconsin

Each spring, biologists, wardens, foresters, members of the Ruffed Grouse Society, and other volunteers travel survey routes in order to record ruffed grouse drumming activity. Drumming is the sound produced by a male grouse during the spring breeding season. The male will display on a drumming log, rapidly beating his wings, producing a drumming sound with the intention of attracting a female. Ruffed grouse drumming surveys have been used since 1964 as an indicator of ruffed grouse population trends. Brood data is also collected during July and August, after eggs have hatched and the young birds are a month or two old. These data are available in early September each year. Collectively, these surveys provide a good picture of ruffed grouse production levels and population trends in Wisconsin.

Statewide, a similar number of drumming grouse were heard in 2014 (0.84 per stop) as were heard during the 2013 survey (0.83 per stop). Wisconsin's primary ruffed grouse range, the Central and Northern Forest Regions, showed mixed results. The Central Forest had a decrease in breeding grouse of 24% this spring, while the Northern Forest had a small increase of 3%.

Grouse populations in northern Wisconsin tend to cycle predictably over a 9- to 11-year period. Survey results suggest that grouse populations in the state may have peaked in 2011 and are now nearing the low point in the cycle.
WDNR Web Site
Ode Note: animal and bird populations can cycle according to weather patterns, predation, disease and other factors, but the explanations always seem incomplete to me, and I sometimes wonder if many cyclic populations have genetically predetermined lows that keep  populations, particularly those of prey species, in check, to maintain an optimal range of numbers of individuals, with the maximum population acting as a dispersal mechanism.