Woodcock!

njp158

New member
The only truly wild bird left in Ohio worth pursuing. Anyone going? I'll be out at the Grand River Wildlife area...
 
The little bogsucker is not the only wild gamebird worth pursuing in Ohio but it is one wild gamebird in Ohio that could be pursued w/o worrying over what to do when one was found.
To answer your question...no.
 
Sorry to hear that! But aren't there at least "some" wild grouse and pheasant left? Is it worth the effort to hunt for them? Didn't Ohio try to reestablish the Bobwhite ?
 
Sorry to hear that! But aren't there at least "some" wild grouse and pheasant left? Is it worth the effort to hunt for them? Didn't Ohio try to reestablish the Bobwhite ?

Grouse?...they are around, with an apparent weather & luck upblip in population pockets.
Hunting them?...depends upon attitude rather than effort expended, no change there based upon population levels....however, at less than 1 bird/hour, many of us are afraid we would find one.
New hunters, blind to what once was, mistakenly find those flush rates acceptable or workable and are the ones who see no reason not to hunt at a level of "some", older hunters often understand what those flush rates indicate in a state like Ohio where the grouse decline has been ongoing and physical access to coverts is easy and limited only by season length.
Ruffed grouse hunting in Ohio is all about experience, perspective and impact on a stressed population and habitat that can not be manipulated as with a quail or pheasant....and focus on self, of course.

Pheasant?...they are around, best often on limited private land where access is tight. If one wished to hunt the state areas and can find a parking spot then walking thru mashed-down grass is available. Pheasants, to please a kid or dog, can be found easily enough within the constricts Ohio delivers.

Quail?...they are around, weather influenced. While I remember quail hunting and quail apart from the present southern pocket, most of those were hit by the winters in the late 70s. There is always an effort afoot to boost quail and success will be equivalent to quail response in any quail marginal state. Reason being that the effort, comparably, is a walk-in-the-park to the effort required to positively impact the ruffed grouse.
Quail & Pheasants...poster children for Build It and They Will Come.
 
Back
Top