Dusky grouse habitat

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Dohyde34

Member
I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this post but I am looking for some help with dusky grouse habitat. I went out one time last year looking for them but got skunked. Honestly I don't know what habitat I should be looking for. I plan on hunting early September. I live in the southern magic valley and I've heard we have them in the forest south of us.
I grew up hunting creek bottoms and the chukar hills so forest grouse is completely new to me.
 
Hunted then I'm Wyoming a couple of times. We did significantly better in the afternoon. Look for sage /ground brush openings within aspen stands. Like most birds , they love some sort of edge where two covers come together. Find some grass hoppers and find them.
 
esetter said:
Hunted then I'm Wyoming a couple of times. We did significantly better in the afternoon. Look for sage /ground brush openings within aspen stands. Like most birds , they love some sort of edge where two covers come together. Find some grass hoppers and find them.
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Agree on afternoon success, stay off west facing slopes if it’s been a dry year. Our country doesn’t have sage but we do seek out edge habitat meadows/aspens/new growth pines. Main tip would be find what elevation they are at, and they love being close to a drop off for a down hill escape. Sacrifice the wind to hunt them walking uphill or side hill, if you push them down hill they bomb out early. They can be frustrating, many times we make a long hike with no birds and see 20 on the logging road driving out.
 
Dohyde34 said:
I'm not sure if this is the correct place for this post but I am looking for some help with dusky grouse habitat. I went out one time last year looking for them but got skunked. Honestly I don't know what habitat I should be looking for. I plan on hunting early September. I live in the southern magic valley and I've heard we have them in the forest south of us.
I grew up hunting creek bottoms and the chukar hills so forest grouse is completely new to me.
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If your dog gets birdie look in the tree above, they flush from the ground to a tall tree, then bomb out down hill.
 
Quailnerd said:
they love being close to a drop off for a down hill escape.
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This is one of the most important things although maybe also the easiest thing to automatically be in. Dusky don't like flying straight up very often. If they can glide away and land in a tree lower than them, they do that.

Depending on time of year, fringe meadows are the best. A lot of bugs in there for them early season, but there has to still be trees around. Later once it gets cold I find them in the wild huckleberries. It's literally the only plant I end up finding in their crops for my areas. So if I see that around then I know it's their area.

Old logging roads are great, but I think that's more because you can cover more distance rather than them being drawn to the areas.

Also to add, they actually migrate to higher elevations in the Winter time. So go higher as it gets colder, not lower.
 
Thanks all that replied. I'm a high mountain dessert boy and this hunting forest is all new to me. I have my first hunt planned for this Friday. I'm going to look for what you guys have said, I'll let everyone how we do.

I'm so excited for this season, and in idaho bird season starts today. It's here y'all. Good luck out there, pack plenty of aqua for the pups and yourself.
 
driving old logging roads morning and afternoon often works. they behave much like barnyard chickens.
 
Dohyde34 said:
Thanks all that replied. I'm a high mountain dessert boy and this hunting forest is all new to me. I have my first hunt planned for this Friday. I'm going to look for what you guys have said, I'll let everyone how we do.

I'm so excited for this season, and in idaho bird season starts today. It's here y'all. Good luck out there, pack plenty of aqua for the pups and yourself.
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Dohyde34 said:
Another issue I’ve run into is the type of dog I own isn’t the best for duskys…. It’s the only type of hunting I do where I wish I could cut their range and speed in half.
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I've found them in Utah on steep avalanche chutes that have been colonized by mountain ash loaded with berries.
It was fun shooting them because the avalanche chutes were so steep, the grouse always flushed and flew down for overhead shots.
Fun shooting as the lab can be flushing hundreds of yards upslope and still great shooting opportunities
and up to 30 birds flushing out of a big mountain ash berry patch.

I've also found them chukar hunting along the Salmon River in Idaho at higher elevations.
Once again they were concentrated on berries...in this case Hawthorn shrubs on south-facing slopes.
They would flush and fly towards the north-facing slope that had tall Douglas-Fir trees as refugia.
Once again the lab could be a hundred yards out in front and the birds would always fly towards
the Doug-Fir slope, so fun pass shooting.

In Montana, I try to find meadows above 5000 feet elevation that have a scattering of fir trees
or on the east side, scattered aspen meadows above 5000 feet elevation.
I like hunting high elevation meadows in early September as its much cooler for the dog.
 
Chessie 67 said:
Yes, berries…In my neck of the woods in the early season, if you find currant bushes with fruit on them you find grouse.
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What state or province?
For most species of grouse, berry patches can be good.
Here from interior Alaska, for sharptails, ptarmigan, spruce grouse
lingonberries in September/October are the place to hunt.
 
Chessie 67 said:
Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The mature rooster I shot yesterday had just finished his final meal around 8 am…Lots of berries in his crop.
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should be good eating
 
Shot my limit of grouse in alpine mountain ash berries yesterday morning here in Montana
MtAsh.png
9-month old pup hunted nicely and flushed each grouse.
I was surprised the see no bear scat in the berry patches.
Nice cool morning for humping the hills to alpine country.
BirdieBlueGrouseHunt.png
 
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