Iowa\u27s First Ruffed Grouse Hunting Season in 45 Years

A 16-day hunting season on ruffed grouse, the first in 45 years, was held in northeastern Iowa in 1968. Season dates were November 2 to 17, inclusive, with a daily bag limit of two and a possession limit of four birds. The 1150 hunters who took part in this season bagged 720 grouse, or 0.6 birds per hunter for the entire season. It took an average of 11.8 gun hours of hunting to bag one ruffed grouse. Birds were flushed at the rate of a bird per 1.9 hours of hunting. An average of 5.4 shots was fired per bird bagged. The sex ratio of 42 birds checked was 50:50. A ratio of 1.5 immatures per adult was found in this sample, with 60 per cent of the take thus being juvenile birds. Color phases of those birds were in the ratio of 50 red: 20 intermediate: 30 gray. Half of all grouse hunting was done in Allamakee County, with 35% in Winneshiek, 15% in Clayton and insignificant amounts in other counties. The estimated take of 720 birds represents a 6% rate of harvest of the estimated fall population of 12,000 ruffed grouse

Recent Wild Turkey Introductions into Iowa

Efforts by the Iowa Conservation Commission to reintroduce wild turkeys into their former range in Iowa have been expanded considerably in recent years. Since the initial release of Rio Grande wild turkeys in the Yellow River State Forest in northeastern Iowa in 1960-61, additional releases have been made at five other sites. Merriam\u27s wild turkeys were liberated in the eastern part of Stephens State Forest in south central Iowa and in Monona County in western Iowa in early 1966. Eastern wild turkeys were stocked in Shimek State Forest in southeastern Iowa in 1965-66, in the western part of Stephens State Forest in early 1968, and along the Upper Iowa River, Allamakee County, in 1969. Results to date indicate that the Eastern subspecies is best suited to Iowa conditions, as evidenced by their good survival, production, and increase in numbers. The Rio Grande and Merriam\u27s are not increasing their numbers to any significant degree, however

Recent Status of Ruffed Grouse in Iowa

The ruffed grouse is a native Iowa game bird, formerly present in forested areas over much of the state. Intensive land use that replaced forested areas with croplands or grazed them heavily with livestock resulted in the disappearance of the species from all but northeastern Iowa by about 1930. Ruffed grouse are presently found in suitable forested habitat in all of Allamakee and Clayton Counties, most of Winneshiek County and in portions of Fayette, Dubuque, Delaware and Howard Counties immediately adjacent to occupied range in the three counties first listed. Spring roadside drumming counts have given an index of 1.6 drums per stop during the past 8 years on several routes within the primary Iowa grouse range, indicating a good population does exist in the area. An average spring population for recent years of about 4,000 birds is estimated, with a fall population of about 12,000. Initial attempts have been made to re-introduce ruffed grouse into Shimek State Forest in southeastern Iowa, with further efforts scheduled for Stephens State Forest in south central Iowa

Current Status of the Woodcock in Iowa

Iowa is at the western edge of the continental range of woodcock. Because of their scarcity in the state, little interest has been shown in them. They are a prized game bird in many states in the eastern half of the country. In 1961, Iowa began participating in the annual U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spring woodcock census, which has increased efforts to learn more about this species in the state. The spring singing-ground census of courting males revealed that a low population of breeding woodcock exists in suitable habitat, primarily limited to the eastern one-third of the state. Thirty verified records of nesting woodcock in Iowa, most from brood sightings, were recorded during the 1960\u27s and 1970\u27s. These bracketed the state from the Mississippi to the Missouri rivers. Other sightings have been reported from various locations in the state during spring and fall migration. A composite of information available showed that woodcock are not abundant but are widely distributed over Iowa