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Bird Tracks and Sign

Ruffed Grouse

 

 

TRACKS

  

A trail left by Ruffed Grouse. Note that it left a sort of trough, as it plowed through the snow.

  

Ruffed Grouse tracks on thinner snow.

Here the actual outline of the feet can be seen

  

Tracks and wing prints from a ruffed grouse that walked along from the bottom of the picture up, and then took off.

  


Photo by Alexis Burnett

Close-up of a ruffed grouse track.
 

  

Here's a beauty!

The ruffed grouse walked towards the camera and then took off. The wing prints are clearly visible!

 
 

 

SCAT

 
Ruffed Grouse scat is oblong, rounded at the ends, and slightly curved.

Note that it is made of fibrous plant material.

 
It often has a whitish coating at one end.
 
A close-up of Ruffed Grouse scat.
  

 

 

 

OTHER SIGNS

 

Here is a photo of a ruffed grouse's resting place. It rested here for some time, facing in turn each direction, as indicated by the bulges pointing towards the lower right and lower left.

It relieved itself - note the pile of scat in the middle - and then took off. Wing prints are visible at the lower right section of the picture.

  
Ruffed Grouse often bury themselves in the snow at night to keep warm (snow is a good insulator).

Here is a photo of where a ruffed grouse dove into the snow and spent the night. When it was ready to leave, it deposited two piles of scat and took off.

The hole where it dove into the snow is at the lower right. It walked under the snow towards the upper middle of the photo. The larger hole to the left of center is where it left its cozy hole after leaving behind its scat. Wing prints are faintly visible to the left of this large hole.

  
Here is a close-up photo of the exit hole, showing the wing prints as it took off.

 


Photo by Alexis Burnett

Here is where a Ruffed Grouse rested for awhile in the snow, and left behind a nice pile of scat.
 

This photo shows two rest areas, and a trail leading away from them.