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Tame bird

Started by Ken, October 28, 2012, 12:51:34 PM

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Ken

When we delivered the harvester to a new block this morning a partridge (ruffed grouse) came out to see what was going on.   The float truck driver actually managed to reach down and pick it up.  There are houses nearby so I suspect someone has been feeding it.  Although it was left to go on its way today it better not follow me too far into the woods this week.  I might have to protect myself. food2

 
Lots of toys for working in the bush

Jeff

That behavior is not uncommon with Ruffed Grouse. It has been documented many times here in Michigan on several different occasions and outdoor shows. It apparently doesn't have a lot to do with prior human contact from what I remember.

I found a quick link:

http://enature.com/Articles/detail.asp?storyID=422
Just call me the midget doctor.
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James Arsenault

I've seen this behavior with partridge once, and had two friends experience it as well. 25 years ago, we had one that would fly onto the yard, land on whatever wood was on the yard, and watch the goings-on no matter how much noise we made, or how close we got to it.

A friend had one, that would fly up and sit with him in his deer stand for a whole fall.

Another friend had one that would fly out and land on his four wheeler when he would get to a certain spot in his woodlot. When he was clearing a food plot for deer, the bird came out and hung around the backhoe.

It ended badly for that partridge though. It flew out to land on the wheeler one day before the wheeler stopped, my friend did not see the bird until it was too late, and ran over it with the wheeler.

Maine372

gotta catch one of each gender, then start breeding them. saves alot of walking and missed shots!

g_man

I was on snowshoes one day and stopped to have a sandwich. A partridge, as we call them, came walking thru the woods right up to me. I thought he wanted to share lunch but all of a sudden he attacked my boot laces. I had a hard time getting rid of him. Every time I kicked him away he came back for more. So I moved and he didn't follow. Must have been his spot.

doctorb

I witnessed similar behavior from a grouse in Canada 10 years ago or so.  We were camping and there were no houses around, so I could not explain it by the usual "wild pet" phenomenon you do see.  Sat on a branch while we were outside at the campsite for about 20 minutes for three days in a row.  I just said, "go figure", until now!  Thanks.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

snowstorm

last winter on the way into the woods with the harvester there was a little bird in the trail. a dove with one foot froze into the ice. so i chipped the ice from around hid foot leaving a peice about the size of an ice cube. then held him close to the motor till the ice melted. after being warmed up i put him on a stump.then he flew away.

timberjack 450

When I was clearing my land for my house a partridge would come and watch me every time. One time he would drag his one wing across my boot. I decided to take a walk and look for deer sign. He followed me the whole way. Probably a 300 yd circle. Unfortunatly by the time I moved to the property he was gone.
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Almost forgot, and a very patient woman

Cypressstump

I guided an archery bull elk once for a guy, it was in New Mexico and a bad September drought and heat wave had set on. Most water holes were dry and lots of normal mountian flowers were not seen. One mid day rest in camp, a hummingbird was flying about. It was trying to 'dip water' from the shiney spots on a blue tarp under my tent. There were a couple corners of blue tarp exposed, and the little guy was thinking the shiney blue color was water I reckon. After several attempts, it landed and started walking on the exposed corner,then lay down, all the time tryin to lick up some water.

I had never seen a hummer walk before.

I caught the little guy with my hand, let it sip water from a cup. It would stay on my finger and drip. It'd fly off to a branch, then come back to my finger for another drip. This went on for 4 days while in camp. I left a full pan of water for him while we were off hunting. When we'd return the little feller would buzz me , I'd hold out a finger and it would land on it, and just hang out with us for a spell before flyng off. Pretty cool. As my hunter killed a nice bull, when we left camp I left a medium sized baking pan plumb full of water with some sticks laid in it so if he or others fell in, they's have a chance to climb out.
Stump

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colincb183

When I was about 9 years old we had one on our property. I had him sitting in the palm of my hand on more than one occasion.  We even got him to come out at night when we drove the four wheeler through where he was nesting.  This isn't too uncommon

1270d

One of my favorite memories is off a tamed grouse at our house.  It chased me once and I was scared of it thereafter. I was around age 3

barbender

My neighbors thought their little boy had an imaginary friend, he kept coming in talking about "Buddy", who would play with him in the sandbox. He was persistent enough about insisting Buddy was real, they finally went out to the sandbox one day to check. Well, there was a partridge in the sandbox with their boy. He comes out to play every time he is in the sandbox.
Too many irons in the fire

sandhills

My landlords ran over a quail nest once but managed to save and incubate one egg, the little bugger was about the size of the tip of your thumb.  he hung around with the "wild" turkeys in their yard for about a year if memory serves correct and it was quite the sight to see him following them around.

1woodguy


First time i saw that with grouse was either in mich or wisconsin at a boy scout
campout
have had blue jays come around had several I would feed when I used to cut a lot
Had a covy of quail come up they looked like a snake coming toward me that's interesting to see when they walk that way have only seen it twice
Also on several occasions had skunks come up while sawing
Two grey squirrels ran down a trunk one jumped on my shoulder while I was cutting a small oak one day never could figure why they didn't just jump to a nearby tree guess the vibration scared them
My favorite was the doe a dog had been chasing it ran up to me exhausted stopped two or three foot from me as if asking me to get the lab away I ran off the dog and the doe just stood there for about five minutes for several days she hung around no telling how far out of her normal range the dog ran her
That's one of the reasons I like the outdoorsyou get to see things most never do
  And in the trees or along the water is where I feel best or natural or calmest hard to explain.
Experience is a rough teacher first you get the test later comes the lesson!

SwampDonkey

A fellow living near Millville took videos of a tame ruffy with his boy last fall. Not a lot of color to those ruffed grouse, white, brown, black. But they are still a pretty bird especially when drumming and strutting. Tasty to. About the best tasting meat in the woods. ;D Back in the deep woods they are not as wild as near settlement or where there is a lot of hunting pressure. Last summer when the road crew graded the road, it was also dry, I'd see grouse in the fresh dirt different mornings rolling and fluffing in the dust.

However, spruce grouse are usually always tame. Most of the time they will let you almost pick them up before they hop or take a short flight out of reach onto a branch. A lot of them you can pick up. It's a wonder they haven't become extinct. Some times I'll get in a block of young softwood and those things are as thick as robins.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

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barbender

SD, we don't have much for Spruce grouse in our immediate area, if you get 80 miles to the north I guess they get pretty thick. There are a lot of huge sruce bogs in far northern MN. They are also called Fool hens, because they are so tame. It is really odd how these grouse can be so tame, we have chickens and they don't like to be handled. None of them will just let you pick them up. There is something special about a wild critter letting you get close or touch them.
Too many irons in the fire

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