Native trees for grouse

[drummer]

In case you own some property and wish to do some plantings:List A.-Deciduous
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Bigtooth Aspen (P. grandidentata)
Lomardy poplar (P.nigra)
Tag Alder (Alnus serrulata)
Speckled Alder (A.rugosa)
White Birch (Betula papyrifera)
Sweet Birch (B. lenta)
Gray Birch (B. populafolia)
Cherrybark Birch (B.uber)
Hazelnut (Corylus americanus)
Ironwood/Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
Hop Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)
American Plum (Prunus americana)
Chickasaw Plum (P.angustifolia)
Pin Cherry (P.pennsylvanica)
Chokecherry(P.virginiana)
Eastern Chokeberry(Aronia spp.)
Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
Maple-leaf Viburnum (V.acerifolium)
Nannyberry (V.lentago)
Black Haw (V.prunifolium)
Cranberry (V.trilobum)
Flowering Dogwod (Cornus florida)
Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum)
Roughleaf Dogwood (Cornus drommundii)
Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)
Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Native Crabapple (Malus spp.)
Serviceberry/Juneberry (Amelanchier spp.)
Winterberry/Michigan Holly (Ilex vertacillata)
White Oak (Quercus alba)
Chestnut Oak (Q. montana)
Persimmon (Diospyros virginianus)
Silky Willow (Salix sericea)
Chinquapin (Castanea pumila)
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)

[Nulle]

One of our very Best trees for sharptail grouse in the Dakotas is the Russan Olive. It is a very good winter source of food for these birds.

[drummer]

Grouse love Russian/autumn olives (Elaeagnus), however,they tend to spread to places where people don't want them.I have several on my place.If you are thinking about gamebird mgt.they are a good food source no doubt,much like bicolor lespedeza.But they will outcompete native plants.

[drummer]

Curt,
Do your Dakota Bobs also hang out in the R. olive thickets?

[drummer]

planting time is nigh.

BTW, the russian olives got hammered last year.

[Nulle]

On my Bobs I am not sure on that one as they are REALLY not native to my area and the covies I have got going are on a river bottom land with plumbs cherries grass and alphalpha ? Should do a study on that if I get time lol.

[DogYeller]

The best plant I can think of for Quail habitat is Showy Partridge Pea.

[drummer]

Curt, you are doing well.Plenty of data to back you up.Alfalfa is a great deer and rabbit food, but I'm not convinced it's birdfood.Gimme soybeans any day for quail.

DogYeller, there's a great book by Fred Guthery called On Bobwhites that has some neat food tables.For my money, give me ragweed any day.
BTW, must Okies I know haven never seen a ruffed grouse,although I believe there was an experiment to introduce them around Broken Bow....
I was trying to explain a grouse to a friend f mine in south Texas.It came out something like this:
"It flies like a quail, but sort of has the body of a pheasant with a turkey's tail fan and the head of a roadrunner.

[DogYeller]

You're right about ragweed but every one plant's Bermuda for pasture and about the time the ragweed gets up good they mow for weed control. I think it's a hanging offense to plant it. I've seen a few grouse in Oklahoma but I think most were escapees from game bird farms. We really don't have the habitat for Ruffed Grouse. We do have some Prairie Chicken but not enough to hunt.

[go to guy]

Im just trying it for my first time this year so i have no freaking idea.

[Nulle]

On the alfalfa it may be the bugs/insects it attracts I do know pheasants love it.

[drummer]

No ruffies in game preserves to my knowledge...There are a couple relatives that look similar, but to my knowledge only about a dozen people in North America know how to raise them in captivity and they won't divulge their secret .
OK does not have the correct climate or habitat for grouse.It used to be tops for quail, but Bermuda grass is largely responsible for their decline, though fire ants will get the blame 90% of the time.

If pheasants are eating it, than it serves its purpose.I forgot about bugging area(where's my sign).That's vital, we always kept a strip of white clover and korean lespedeza around the perimeter of fallow or NWSG fields for that (plus a walkway.)

[Nulle]

There are some Ruffed Grouse that are raised but I am telling you they are a train wreck to do and if you find some the $ will knock you socks off . They are very tricky to raise in captivity and require constant monitoring.

[drummer]

There's a bit of info about attempts to raise grouse in captivity in Jack Knight's Ruffed Grouse and Frank Edminster's Game Birds of North America.Both of those are older books with some obsolete information (do NOT plant sericia for bobwhite quail!!!) , but one of the problems is parasitic infestation.To my understanding, grouse are "clean freaks" and cannot handle parasite loads that ringnecks and bobwhites can live with.Thus the constant monitoring and care Nulle refers to.
The best solution for grouse, is alot of contiguous, quality habitat, which means, lots of shrubs,saplings and nasty brush and brambles,and a good mixture of softmast and aspen catkins in the north and beech/oak south of the aspen zone.