By Jason Abraham

A Search forof the Secr ets Spruce GrousPursuede by birders and sometimes by hunters, this wild fowl of evergreen forests is also being studied by researchers.

ight is giving way to an overcast dawn as Alex Fish’s Nrubber boots finally halt atop a root-snarled hump. We’ve been following his GPS receiver through dense tangles of a black- spruce bog for the past half hour. Now the search for spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) begins. It’s late April, and we’re at Red Lake Wildlife Management Area, a 320,000-acre tract of black spruce, jack pine, aspen, white cedar, and sedge meadows near the Canadian border in northwestern Minne­ sota. Male spruce grouse, awash in reproductive hormones, are put­ ting on displays of fluttering, strutting, and swishing to attract females and intimidate competing males. This peak of courtship activity is

the best time to find and study these otherwise quiet boreal birds. SPRUCE GROUSE BY MICHAEL FURTMAN MALE

18 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer MALE SPRUCE GROUSE BY MICHAEL FURTMAN MALE

March–April 2014 19 For the past six weeks, Fish, a seasonal future surveys. Additionally, researchers plan wildlife research technician with the De­ to learn more about whether specific habitats partment of Natural Resources, has set out are especially attractive to spruce grouse dur­ in the predawn darkness for a plot of forest ing mating season. They’ll look at the num­ to locate spruce grouse. When he reaches it, ber of trees; the density of underbrush and he makes a few field measurements, such as of groundcover such as Labrador tea, leath­ types of trees, density of underbrush, and erleaf, and sphagnum moss; and the number height of understory vegetation. and size of open areas. This data will help Then he follows his GPS to another 16 wildlife managers understand how to im­ stopping points within the 158-acre plot. At prove habitat for this game bird, which was each one, he follows the same routine. First, once more plentiful in northern Minnesota. he listens for a few seconds as the forest With enough data on grouse detections, stirs. Then he takes weather readings. After researchers could one day create a computer noting various birds he’s hearing, he opens model for identifying ideal habitats across the a small plastic amplifier that adds one more bird’s range, says Mike Larson, DNR forest sound to the cacophony of forest birds—the wildlife research group leader and a former hen spruce grouse’s call, known as a cantus. grouse biologist. “We would be able to esti­ A series of raspy warbles emanate from the mate the probability of a stand of trees be­ speaker, and Fish’s attention is immediately ing occupied by spruce grouse, based on the drawn to the sound of wing beats 50 yards characteristics of the forest around the stand,” behind us. After a few moments, we push he says. These timber stands would vary in through a tangle of underbrush to a tiny size and contain suitable wintertime cover as clearing where a male spruce grouse sits on a well as areas for courtship and nesting. branch about 20 feet up in a black spruce tree. Seemingly oblivious to his early-morning On Edge. Spruce grouse, which are at the visitors, the bird stretches his body to make southern edge of their range in Minnesota, the most of his 2-pound stature. Above his face potential threats from changing forest eyes, two brilliant red combs form elegant management practices as well as impacts arcs. Beneath his chin, short feathers puff from projected climate change. For these out like a beard. His chest and wings are a reasons, in 2008 the Association of Fish and bold contrast of black and white; his orange- Wildlife Agencies recommended that states tipped tail feathers rise and fall slightly as if in spruce grouse range develop formal sur­ marking the seconds before a hen’s approach. veys for monitoring population change and Detecting a spruce grouse on the first stop conducting research on the effects of habitat is good, Fish says, because it could signal alterations and hunting. an uptick in spruce grouse breeding activ­ While there is no sign that spruce grouse ity, and it means we’ll see more birds. Fish’s populations are in trouble, biologists aren’t fieldwork is part of a survey on Red Lake certain of the bird’s abundance or specific WMA and the adjacent Beltrami Island State habitat needs in Minnesota. Citing this lack Forest. One goal of the study is to evalu­ of population trend data, as well as the bird’s ate techniques for locating spruce grouse in dependence on the conifer-dominated land-

20 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer scapes of the boreal and near-boreal forest, the DNR in 2006 listed the spruce grouse as a Species of Great­ est Conservation Need. The bird has been on the sensitive species list for Chippewa National Forest since 2004. One of the reasons for the lack of spruce grouse population data is the secretive nature of the birds, Larson says. “Ruffed grouse drum, sharp- tails dance, and prairie chickens boom,” he says of the state’s other na­ tive grouse species. “But the spruce grouse puts on a much more subtle display, fluttering its wings as it flits from low tree limbs to the ground. Because it’s less visible, it requires a much more intensive survey effort, COURTESY OF ALEXANDER FISH and that’s one reason we have much less data on the spruce grouse.” Lightly harvested Before beginning the current Minnesota hunters harvest about 10,000 to 20,000 study in 2011, Larson reviewed four spruce grouse each year under a daily bag limit of five, historic studies of spruce grouse in according to DNR small-game harvest records. This Minnesota, done between 1951 and compares with an average of 500,000 ruffed grouse 1979. While each provided useful taken annually. While many spruce grouse are likely information, they were limited to harvested mistakenly by hunters pursuing ruffed unique study areas, making it diffi­ grouse, some hunters enjoy hunting spruce grouse. cult, Larson says, to apply the results “Spruce grouse live in some of the wildest, most to a broad geographic area. remote places in the state. And some hunters are While biologists focus on the attracted to the opportunity to pursue the bird spruce grouse as an indicator species, in those areas,” says Jay Johnson, DNR hunter re­ the bird is also a highlight species for cruitment and retention supervisor. “Other hunt­ birders across the United States, says ers pursue spruce grouse because it’s a unique bird DNR Nongame Wildlife Program that can be harvested in only a handful of states.” supervisor Carrol Henderson. The Hunters have limited opportunities for prairie spruce grouse is one of a handful chickens and sharp-tailed grouse and longer sea­ of boreal birds that can be reliably sons for ruffed grouse and spruce grouse. North­ spotted in northern Minnesota. western Minnesota is one of the few areas where “The boreal biome is very special,” all four of the state’s native grouse species can be he says. “It’s one of the few places harvested in a single season—a feat known in in the United States outside Alaska some hunting circles as a Minnesota Grand Slam.

March–April 2014 21 TONY RUSS TONY A female spruce grouse sits on a nest at the base of a black spruce in south-central Alaska.Throughout their range, spruce grouse nest on the ground in locations with overhead cover, usually at the base of a coniferous tree.

where you can dependably see popula­ blend into lichen-covered coniferous for­ tions of spruce grouse, pine grosbeak, and ests. The male, however, sports a loud con­ great gray owl, among a few others.” trast of black and white bars with brilliant red combs above each eye. Fool Hen. If you’re fortunate enough to At the end of breeding season, hens cre­ find a spruce grouse, you’re likely to get a ate ground nests, often little more than a very good look at it. Perhaps the best-known slight depression in a bed of conifer nee­ feature of both sexes of spruce grouse is dles, under overhanging branches. A hen their seeming total lack of fear of humans. lays as many as 12 eggs, which hatch in 24 This unwariness has earned them the nick­ days. The chicks can fly in about two weeks, name “fool hen.” Reports abound of hunters but they follow their mother until Septem­ approaching the birds and knocking them ber or October. dead with a stick. The female, slightly larger Spruce grouse are found in coniferous than a pigeon, somewhat compensates for forests in Canada and northern regions of her lack of caution with a brown, black, and the United States. In Minnesota, Larson gray camouflage pattern that allows her to says, the bird’s range has varied through the

22 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer TONY RUSS TONY The female spruce grouse lays as many as 12 eggs after selecting her nest location. Red squirrels are major predators of spruce grouse eggs. If a clutch is lost early in the nesting season, the hen will lay again, but usually fewer eggs.

years, generally coinciding with the pres­ teer article by area game managers Milton ence of black spruce, jack pine, and white Stenlund and Lester Magnus, spruce grouse cedar. The adult spruce grouse’s diet is made were nearly extirpated from Minnesota af­ up almost entirely of short conifer needles. ter a period of intense logging and many Coniferous trees also provide a place for forest fires from 1890 to 1915. spruce grouse to escape predators such as In the 1940s, regenerating forests had hawks, owls, fisher, martens, and fox. While matured enough to support understories the birds show little fear of humans, the ap­ of balsam fir, spruce, and jack pine, thus proach of a predator or even a dog causes prompting a resurgence of spruce grouse the birds to flush wildly and dart high into populations. More recently, spruce grouse the nearest tangle of trees. In winter the have been most common in Lake of the birds sometimes burrow into deep snow to Woods and Koochiching counties and avoid predators and to stay warm. the northern halves of St. Louis, Lake, and In the 1800s, spruce grouse were found Cook counties. The range also includes as far south as Lake Mille Lacs. However, eastern Roseau and northern Itasca coun­ according to a 1951 Conservation Volun­ ties and parts of Beltrami County.

March–April 2014 23 Results. Back at Red Lake WMA head­ he’s recorded seven detections—the most in quarters, DNR area wildlife manager a single day so far this 2012 season. On our Gretchen Mehmel is eager for more pre­ way to our last stop, we sidestep numerous cise information to help improve habitat pitcher plants on the moss-covered forest for spruce grouse populations. Mehmel floor. Fish notes a small patch of exposed soil was the first in the DNR to suggest look­ that is likely the result of repeated landings ing into what more could be done for their of a male spruce grouse fluttering from the habitat. She arranged funding for a large trees. As Fish bends to snap a few photos, a portion of the study from income derived male spruce grouse darts through the under­ from state management of federal land on brush on foot. Fish plays the cantus call to see Red Lake WMA. if the bird will return. In 2011, the first year of the project, crews Although the male does not return, a hen detected 46 spruce grouse in about 978 responds to the amplified song with her systematically distributed points in 63 ran­ own cantus. Because both encounters occur domly selected plots centered on jack pine away from a prescribed stop, Fish makes and lowland black spruce. They also found note of them as incidental detections. They 40 spruce grouse at incidental sites, which are our last grouse encounters of the day, weren’t part of the survey route. In 2012 they as our remaining hours in the black spruce detected 32 spruce grouse at 1,314 points in bog pass uneventfully. 83 randomly selected plots. Research will re­ Back at the truck, with the sun still high sume this spring under DNR grouse biolo­ in the sky, Fish tallies the day’s spruce grouse gist Charlotte Roy, who will lead the design detections at nine. As a bonus, he also notes of a roadside survey to determine the distri­ golden- and ruby-crowned kinglets, boreal bution and population of the spruce grouse chickadee, black-capped chickadee, red- across its range in Minnesota. breasted nuthatch, winter wren, dark-eyed For Mehmel and other wildlife managers juncos, white-throated sparrows, hermit in northern Minnesota, this study could help thrushes, and yellow-rumped warblers. “Not answer some important questions about a bad day at the office,” Fish says. Before the managing forest habitat for spruce grouse in survey ends in the coming weeks, Fish will the future. “Like the moose, spruce grouse visit at least 13 more plots. are kind of the canary in the coal mine for cli­ After a day of winding my way through mate change,” Mehmel says. “Because they’re dense tangles in Red Lake WMA, I see why on the southern edge of their range in Min­ so little is known about the spruce grouse. nesota, whatever we can learn now about Gathering data on a bird that lives deep in spruce grouse habitat preference might be the forest and is nearly silent and secretive valuable for wildlife managers in the future for all but a few weeks each year is diffi­ who may need to protect those habitat types.” cult, painstaking work. In time, however, this project and others like it will help un­ Last Stop. On Red Lake WMA, Fish and ravel the mysteries of what this beautiful I have no difficulty locating spruce grouse bird needs to sustain itself in Minnesota’s

on this warm, overcast day. Before noon, boreal forests. nV SPRUCE GROUSE BY MICHAEL FURTMAN FEMALE

24 Minnesota Conservation Volunteer FEMALE SPRUCE GROUSE BY MICHAEL FURTMAN March–April 2014 2014 March–April

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