Upland Game Bird Conservation: Ruffed Grouse Ruffed grouse occur in forested counties of eastern and southern Ohio. The preferred habitat of this popular game bird is young forest cover that regrows following logging, the reclamation of surface mines, and abandonment of pastures and farmland. Grouse numbers have declined considerably in Ohio since the early 1980s as forests have matured in the state, and roadside drumming counts and hunter flush rates in 2018 remain near historic lows. Unfortuna

Ruffed Grouse Known as the “king of game birds” by many Eastern hunters, the solitary spring display of the Ruffed grouse may indeed appear a bit more regal than the dancing and brawling of its lekking prairie cousins. Ruffed grouse are found throughout the forested parts of the northern US and Canada, including western Montana, and the sound of one drumming may be familiar to anyone who spends time in the woods each spring. A male ruffed grouse has two parts to his breeding season performance,