RedNecked Ruffy

[WAG416]

Shot these two grouse on Sunday, and i dont recall ever finding one with a Red Ruff before.

Im curious to hear if this is common. Im aware of brown phase/grey phase but this one with the red neck is grey phase, so that doesnt seem to fit.

Any thoughts??

[Matt Breuer]

Red or copper ruffed birds are rare. They are more prominent in years with milder climates (this year) and in the southern states. The ruff always matches the sub-terminal band, which is why you see the copper in the band as well. Very pretty birds, and they bring out a whole new class of color-phases, as they come in the red-phase (brown tail) as well. I have read 1 in 4000 male birds harvested will have this trait, while close to 1 in a million females will have it.

Beautiful bird you've got there. I've got one nearly identical sitting atop my fridge staring down at me...

[CANOPY SAM]

Wow! That color contrast is pretty amazing. They almost look like two subspecies of birds. It would be fun to have them both mounted, side-by-side, flying all fanned out!

Matt, don't the more mature birds have more brown or chestnut color to them then the young of the year birds? Couldn't that be a Mom/Dad, and baby?

[grousehunter]

I'm still regretting not mounting one of the chocalte ruffies I shot. It was literally the biggest grouse I have ever seen. Its breast meat fillets were almost as big as a roosters. They are buetiful in that color phase and you definitly don't see them very often.

[tybo]

I shot an absolutley huge copper male last year in Chippewa National Forest. I am still kicking myself in the arse for not putting him on the wall. Congrats on a beautiful bird.

[TylerS]

Well...looks like I have a new life goal. Thanks for posting the pic! I didn't even know those existed.

[Matt Breuer]

CANOPY, those look like 1 and 2 year old birds. Could be related, but how to tell? Ruff and sub-terminal band hues are determined pretty much from the initial growth. I've shot 2 new-brood birds this year that had the copper ruff and band this season, and I ahve no doubt in 2-3 years they would've been beautiful trophies!

Here are two more examples. I've shot around 20 of them with this coloration, and I can't stop taking pics of them because they're so pretty! I hope you froze that prime beauty above??

My first ever that I really noticed the color on. From 1997.

A beauty from last year...

[2thepointsetters]

Does the color vary by region? There seem to be lots of the red ones up by me. I had no idea they are not as plentiful.

[SledNeck]

Does the color vary by region? There seem to be lots of the red ones up by me. I had no idea they are not as plentiful.

exactly. Ive probably shot like 10 of them in my life.

[topcat3820]

Never even noticed this from yesterday's hunt... second from the left !!!

Guess what the main course is on tonight's menu ???

[Ferny]

This is the first ever red tail I can remember in 25 years of hunting.

Thanks to the guy who posted the grouse food pictures I have really been looking at the surroundings when we flush birds. We spotted tons of food sources, fresh grouse tracks, and some grouse turds on this awesome weekend. We even managed a few of the beautiful birds for supper. Lots of firsts this weekend, and it was great to be out in the woods with my son.

Ferny.

[WAG416]

Hey Thanks for the information!

Looking back at other pictures from this year, 2 other guys I hunt with have also taken these copper colored birds this year.

And yes Matt, mine found his way into the freezer for safe keeping

[Matt Breuer]

Ferny, love the grouse tracks pic! Nothing better than following them after a fresh snow... As for the red-fanned bird, can't believe you've seen one in 25 years. Amazing. What area do you hunt? Our of roughly 55 birds this year we've shot roughly 15-20 that were red, the rest were gray.

WAG, very glad to hear it!

Sunday I got the 4th copper ruff/banded bird of the year. Bad pic, but man was it orange in full light! They're so pretty...

[CANOPY SAM]

Matt. Had a little surprise this evening. While I was doing some quick yard work just before sundown a plump little ruffy flew right into one of the crab apple trees in my front yard!!!

Needless to say, I had fresh grouse breast for dinner! Just another little perk that comes with living in the country...

Ferny. That's a great picture! I think I'd frame that one and put it on the desk at work!

[Matt Breuer]

Did you let your young man do the dirty work? Has he bagged his first bird yet?

When we lived out by where you're at, we had ruffies in the yard all of the time. I've got some great pics of a tame bird that used to chase me around the yard. They'll almost all fly in from across the river...

[CANOPY SAM]

Actually Matt, Pete was playing a video game with a friend and didn't want to interupt the game. Kids these days! He still hasn't bagged a bird this year. We'll be hittin' it hard when the deer season is wrapped up. I really love hunting ruffies with snow on the ground, and the sharpies should be pretty concentrated by then as well.

Funny thing last night, at the time the bird showed up I had two guys out here working on my internet connection (outside connector box) when I came struttin' outta the basement with the trusty old .410. I think they about ran for the truck!

In retrospect, I kinda wish I hadn't shot the little feller. It would've been fun to see how long he'd have stayed around. As always, my stomach was making the decisions for me!

We really should make plans to do a little hunting together once muzzy season opens up. I plan on taking Pete, and Abbey out during the muzzle-loader deer hunt, as well as plenty of grouse hunting. The waterfowl hunting around here just hasn't come together this year.

[Pinusbanksiana]

I have shot grouse in my yard before but it always bothers me. Now I just let them hang out.