3 WI Ruffed Grouse hunting with the Ruffed Grouse Society

Male ruffed grouse “drum” in springtime as a way to establish territory and to attract females. Although it looks as if the sound is caused by the bird’s wings hitting its chest, the sound actually comes from small sonic booms. The wings beat up to 5 times per second, causing the sound waves to stack up until they create a penetrating shock wave that creates the boom. Male grouse usually perform on a “drumming log,” which might help project the low-frequency sound. Drumming exerts a remarkable a

The ruffed grouse is hard to see, but its drumming is a fixture of many spring forests. If you look closely, however, you'll see the male’s signature display doesn’t involve "drumming" on anything but air! © David & Laura Hughes | West Virginia Nature Conservancy

Sound on to hear the drumming 🔊 This is the breeding display of the ruffed grouse, the analogue to sage-grouse strutting or sharp-tailed grouse dancing. They are similar to dusky grouse in that they are not in a concentrated lek, but instead form territories. Ruffed grouse will generally find a downed log, their drumming log, and use it to drum on much like a stage. They are not actually hitting the log. But it can sound a little like it if you hear them in person. The sound is just from moving