Patrick Durkin: Wisconsin’s drumming grouse numbers take big jump during latest spring survey

Six years after Wisconsin policymakers panicked over declines in the ruffed grouse population, the state’s “thunder chickens” climbed atop their drumming logs in big numbers this spring.
The DNR reports that statewide drumming rose 57% from a year ago, increasing 60% in the north and 41% in central areas. Drumming fell 56% in the Driftless Region. This spring’s drumming data fell just short of four previous highs since the surveys began in 1993. Those highs occurred in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2011.

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