Gun Dog Forum

I was hunting today in some colorado high elev, aspen/pasture edges. My dog pointed and a group of birds about 30 yards away flushed, then a single flushed on my left at about 35 yards. These birds didn't hold for a 30+ yrd point, seemed faster than blue grouse and were a bit smaller and darker red/brown. I know there is one species of woodpecker around here that hangs out on the ground every now and then but not sure they are gregarious like grouse are. Whatever it was I would really like to find out, anyone have any ideas? I'd surely know if I killed one, whether that's a good thing or not. Its all I saw today that seemed gamy. Heard some elk bugles, that's always mystic.

Sounds like maybe Ruffed Grouse to me?

me too, but that would be like someone spotting a mountain lion in north carolina. Plus, I think ruffs woulda held on that far of a point

Never been to Colorado let alone hunted there so don't know anything about that.

You don't have Huns do you? Thats the way they would act.

Ezzy

No season for huns, funny i was just looking and there is an unlimited bag limit for the invasive starlings and house sparrows, my dog would LOVE that! What the heck are you going to do with a dead house sparrow

If I see those birds again I might take one if I can just for the sake of science.

A friend once told me of a guy he knew who worked for a prestigious museum.. say the most well known in the US. He brought in a specimen of bird thought to be extinct from that area, they wanted to kill it so they could stuff it for future ornithologists to see... he quit that day.

Sounds like Ptarmagin to me. I am pretty sure there are a few in Colorado. They turn white in the winter. They are not my favorite to eat, but they are fun to hunt.

hmmm maybe a sharp tailed grouse?? No season in my game zone.

Dashin Gun Dogs wrote:Sounds like Ptarmagin to me. I am pretty sure there are a few in Colorado. They turn white in the winter. They are not my favorite to eat, but they are fun to hunt.

This was below tree line so I would be surprised... season for ptarmagin opens on the 10th... maybe I'll find out, I'm pretty sure this specific area now sees 1 bird hunter a year. I couldn't hunt the road due to labor day traffic and elk hunters so I discovered some really cool habitat up this one draw above the road up to the ridge, I am really looking forward to exploring this area. Kinda gotta be watchful of cliffs and so forth with my dog though, need to teach him how to slow down for grouse and caution.

I have found a many Ptarmagin below the treeline in Alaska, but I am not sure about your area. I found Sharptail in the same areas as Ptarmagin after the snow hit the mnts.

Odds are it was a ruffed grouse. One thing you have to understand is that ruffed grouse in the West do not behave the same as ruffed grouse in the rest of the US. Same bird different actions. You can kill ruffed, sage and blues with sticks or rocks if you like. As your first point from the dog showed they stood in the road and you had to chase them into the air. No other game bird will stand there with a dog pointing them, a person walking toward them without flushing.

Vision wrote:Odds are it was a ruffed grouse. One thing you have to understand is that ruffed grouse in the West do not behave the same as ruffed grouse in the rest of the US. Same bird different actions. You can kill ruffed, sage and blues with sticks or rocks if you like. As your first point from the dog showed they stood in the road and you had to chase them into the air. No other game bird will stand there with a dog pointing them, a person walking toward them without flushing.

These flushed very early, and I just read a peer review that said there is no scientific evidence of the presence of ruffed grouse in my area (at the time it was written of course).

Ptarmigan before the phase change.

I also found about 20 bob-whites up past Dolores this year. I am sure they were released training birds, but they were in a nice covey that my DD busted almost daily for a week while we were there.