PA Grouse Flush Rates Map

Okay, I admit it.  I'm a map nerd. 

You can declare yourself a map nerd if you've done any of the following:
(1) caught yourself spending over 30 minutes pouring over one USGS historical 1916 quad map of your hometown,
(2) read Ken Jenning's Maphead
(3) get fired up when Google hasn't updated their maps to show that a certain State Route is now an Interstate and for some reason is not showing the correct boundaries to your local park

Well I'm guilty on all three counts.

This post combines two interests of mine -- interactive online maps and upland bird hunting.

Don't worry hunters, I'm not posting x/y coordinates to your secret aspen coverts and alder haunts where you chase grouse and woodcock.  All the information used to create this map is contained in the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Grouse Management Plan (beware Dial-Up users, this is a 2.7 MB PDF file!).

Here is the finished product and a description below on how it was created.  Mouse over counties to see statistics.  Also, please feel free to comment!


Click here to view the full map.

County boundary data was downloaded as a shapefile from the US Census Bureau's Tiger Line file page.  Then flush rate values from page 22 of the aforementioned management plan were entered into the shapefile.

This was done using ESRI software which I have a license for, but for those looking for a reliable freebie check out Quantum.

Next, TileMill was downloaded from Mapbox and the shapefile was input into the software.  A few other shapefiles were added (such as the dark lines showing regions) and were styled using the Carto language.  Once styled, the map was pushed to Mapbox hosting and can be viewed in almost any web browser on most operating systems (including Droid)!

Wanna know the best part? (- yes, I picked this phrase up from the 5 year old next door.)  Guess how much this cost to style in TileMill and host?  Yeah, $0!

Learning how to use the software was fairly easy and slightly addictive.  There is a fee once you post a ton of data or if your map goes viral on twitter and you receive a ton of hits...but to get started you can't beat this.  There is also a very active forum for questions.

Anyway, back to the birds...

See the pale areas?  Flush rates are low here and it's no surprise for Allegheny and Philadelphia counties.  Last time I drove to PNC park for a Bucco game I don't recall seeing any 20 acre clear-cuts near the Fort Pitt Tunnels.  And, unfortunately, I live smack dab in the middle of Beaver County (lots of deer, little grouse -- maybe that's why i have burr-in-hand more than bird-in-hand).  Oh well, my Brit and I don't mind driving to chase birds on Saturday mornings.

So what's the point here?  Well there are a few:
1. If you're into mapping give Mapbox a try.
2. Mapping should be fun if you have a particular interest in the topic and you're working with data that is openly available (thanks PGC).
3. If you're an avid upland bird hunter...don't move to Beaver County! --although I do have a few honeyholes.
4. I commend the PA Game Commission for all the habitat work they have been doing to transfer our mature forests to early successional habitat (I bet you can tell I'm an RGS member now) and making it easy to follow on twitter.

Quit yappin and start mappin.

-Regards

10/25/2011

Location: Ohioville Gamelands


Temp: 60 degrees, falling to 55 by dusk
Wind: none
Weather: Mostly sunny but somewhat wet ground from previous day's storms


This was Rocko and I's first trip out for pheasant. We hit the fields that usually hold birds a few days after the opening day Orange-army goes through the area. And guess what, Rocko flushed a bird in the same field that we flushed a bird from on the same day last year. This time I missed...twice. I shot over the bird as I was kind of leaning backwards when taking a shot due to the terrain.



Rocko went nuts after this and was determined to find another bird. Unfortunately it did not happen. We tried a slow moving stream where beaver dams are all over the place. Hoping to flush a woodcock but to no avail.


Other Highlights: Rocko's new Dogtra 2500 T&B E-collar worked excellent. No issues what-so-ever and he had his best hunting trip of all time in regard to not hunting for himself. He stayed close to me in thick cover, thought about chasing a deer but was kept in check, and I was even able to have him heel next to me as we walked back to the truck next to a State Route with traffic. Also, he retrieved a leaf for me that was floating in the middle of a large pond for absolutely no reason. Pretty funny to watch.



First pheasant field we walked through


Rocko ready to go home!

10/20/2011

Location: Work

Temp: low - 50's
Wind: next to nothing
Weather: Cloudy, chance of rain 40% but never happened

Skunked. Went out after work for archery until dusk and did not see a thing. This is where deer were coming out into the field but did not see it happen. Checked my cam about 50 yards from here and no action. Time to move on to another spot.

10/15/2011

Location: Somerset/Cambria County border

Temp: mid - 50's

Wind: 25 MPH sustained, 50 MPH gusts

Weather: Beautiful day other than the wind, partly cloudy. No rain.

Opening day of grouse season in Pennsylvania. I was pretty excited to be home to be able to hunt where there is actually a population of the bird. Beaver County seems to have grouse few and far between, but we have a couple of hot spots in Somerset/Cambria county.

I met up with Sam and his Dad just after daybreak, around 7:45 AM. We went to the first good spot. Rocko was running to my right and I heard his bell stop at about 30 yards. I went to look over his direction and a grouse flushed from the ground from underneath a pine tree. I could only watch as he flew "up" the pine tree and over the treeline because Sam as in that general direction and I didn't want to spray him with 6 shot BBs!

That happened around 8:30 AM.

Around 9:30 Rocko must have ran over another grouse, that scared him as it flushed, and he decided to chase after it and bark. Not really what I have in mind for him but on a ridiculously windy day I don't blame him. This happened at about 70 yards and I was a little mad that he was that far out in front. The problem was that my E-Collar was not working properly and hasn't been for about 2 weeks. The battery on his end shuts off sporadically.

DO NOT BUY SPORTDOG brand collars!! A week later I purchased a Dogtra 2500 Train and Beep collar with a 1 mile buz range and 400 yard audible beeper range. So far so good with the new collar.

Anyway, we decided to hit another two spots that usually hold grouse but we were unsuccessful. I wanted to hit up my one hotspot but there were 3 cars parked near the entrance to the trail...probably hunting deer as I think it was the first day of doe muzzleloader and archery was also in.

Took a break, went to Sheetz for some hot dogs (still 2 for $1).

Early afternoon Sam and I decided to take a ride on the mountain off Crum road to check out some of the new timber cuts. Not only did they cut timber within the past 5 years here, but they also fenced in the area to study how the woods grow without the interacation with deer grazing. Well, I can tell you it's so thick you can't walk through it! No luck here, plus the wind was unreal. Probably 40MPH, constant.

So finally to end the day we checked out my spot where there were 3 vehicles prior. It's an old logging camp or farmstead. We thought we weren't going to have any luck and were about to call it a day when we got a flush. Sam followed the bird with his 20 guage and it led right to bright orange (me). He yelled my name and I saw the bird from the corner of my eye, raised my 12 guage but did not have time for a shot as it entered some thicker saplings. We went into the saplings but to no avail. Rocko couldn't pick up a scent as it was still very windy.

So 3 flushes, no shots. I've had better days but I've also had a lot worse days. Can't wait to get out to this area again but it might now happen until Thanksgiving time.

Pictures from opening day (From Sam's Droid [oldwaysnewways]):

Rocko ready to roll

Shrooooms, man.


"Now what?"

'Atta boy.


Old stand of apple trees.

Huge red oak.

10/13/11

Location: Outside my office

Temp: 73 degrees

Wind: None

Weather: Cloudy, chance of rain 40% but never happened.

I stepped out of the office, shot the bull for a few minutes, and then headed to find a tree for a new spot I had picked out. Deer have been showing up in the back of the field at work and I thought I knew where they were coming from into the field.

I climbed a pretty big white oak tree with my Summit Viper. I was in my stand and situated at 5:10 PM. Nothing really going on except chipmunks and a fat red squirrel scurrying around.

At 6:20 a deer walked into view about 60 yards away. My cheap $40 binoculars told me that it was something between a 6 or 8 point. Probably 6. Either way, he got no closer than 50 yards. I figured I'll go out Thursday and set up closer to where he was. He wasn't really heading to the corner of the field I have seen the deer arrive at previously.

Nothing doing until dark, so I climbed down and headed out. To get to the truck I had to walk directly towards the area of the field I had been seeing deer so I walked cautiously. Sure enough, I saw one and "he" saw me. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but it was a buck and I think i know who. I got a picture of a legal, small racked deer but has a big body.

He started doing the "I know something is there but I can't get it to move" neck and feet motions. I held steady and put an arrow in my bow. It was close to the end of legal shooting hours. If I could duck down his silhouette would no longer be agains the back of the field but it would be over the horizon. Knowing this I could see how many points he had. If he had "3-Up", I'd shoot. Of course, I duck down and he bolts. Warning Snort and takes off towards the woods. Before jumping in the woods, he stands broadside at 15 yards. I can't shoot because I don't know if he's legal. Oh well!

I know where I'm setting up Thursday. Right in the corner of that field.

Trail cam pic of the deer I think I saw at dusk. Not a biggy, but has unique horns where they meet his head.

08/13/11

Location: South Beaver Gamelands SGL 285
Temp: 70 degrees
Wind: under 5 MPH
Weather: Partly cloudy and relatively cool for the Middle of August

I haven't kept up with this blog. I need to!

I took Rocko out (my brittany 1 1/2 years old) for a run through the gamelands. He didn't find anything that I was looking for (grouse/pheasant) but we only stuck to the trails. Well, for the most part.

On the way back to the truck he ended up in the thickets stuff possible chasing....something. I have no clue what it was. At one point he was barking curiously. I could only hear that and his cowbell ringing. After 15 minutes he showed up again and we headed back to the truck.

He's really learning the commands "Stop" and "Heel". Should be a fun fall with him.

Also noticed a lot of aspens remain from the clearcuts. Hopefully this brings on some good grouse habitat because it's definitely lacking around here. Well, as far as I know.

No pictures. I need to get on that. Will be posting more this fall...I didn't keep up with it last fall/winter and I missed logging a LOT of information. Archery, small game, rifle.

Good times.

01/16/2010

Location: Ohioville Gamelands/South Beaver Gamelands
Temp: 40 degrees
Wind: N/A
Weather: Snow melting, one inch in places, nothing under pines.

I went out for small game today. I wasn't very motivated, I just wanted to get out for a walk since it was a nice day. I went to the Ohioville Gamelands first. I had two squirrels running around, but did I really want to clean them? Nah, let them go. Hung out for awhile and had a bunch of birds flying around. Juncos, titmice (or is it titmouses?, i never know...), nuthatches, etc. but I forgot my binos so I was kind of pissed. Deer tracks all over my archery spot. I'm sure they're grouped up now and moving in packs of 10+ and were hitting the cut-corn.

Anyway, left there and went to South Beaver gamelands. No rabbits. I thought I might have seen some but had no luck. No coyotes but a ton of tracks. Also a lot of deer tracks. One was maybe the smallest track I've ever seen. I should have taken a picture. Oh well.

I did come across two bluebirds. I took the camera but I couldn't get close enough to get a good shot. (I'm hoping to get some shots of warblers this summer but with this camera it isn't gonna happen.) I did take a close up of the sumac drupes that they were pecking away at.


Until next time.