Bob White.

[DragonGunner]

Might sound kinda dumb. But back in the 60's and 70's here in Wabash Co. we did rabbit and quail hunting all the time. Seems like by the 80's the quail around here disappeared. Growing up use to hear them all the time, mornings and evening coming from our swamp and fields. In the 90's while deer hunting I saw a small group moving in front of me. Have not seen or heard one that I can remember since then. Lived those years in the 90's until 2012 in a small town, and now the last 10 years out in the country.
Yesterday morning I was walking out back around the house and I heard something and no kidding I stopped in my tracks, frozen in time.....some people say a smell can bring back memories...for me thats not true, its music or sound....and I just heard a sound...it can't be....then it went again...it was a Bob White as loud as could be even though it was like 200 yards away in a small woods sounding across the field. I listened to it for probably 30 minutes or so. Man, sure bought back some memories and hope increase in numbers...we got a ton of hawks and owls around here also. It has to be decades since I heard that sound.

 

[hoosierdaddy1976]

There are some around here, but it's been a few years since I last heard one.

 

[MRockwell]

Several years ago when I was living out in the country (northern Hamilton county), I was hearing a pheasant. So I get my vizsla and start walking around the old feedlot. Kept going the way we heard it until I realized we were duped. It was a Brown Thrasher!

Back in the late '80's I would see the occasional covey in the end-rows of the corn fields while riding my 4-wheeler. Don't see them much any more.

 

[Hkindiana]

Speaking of declining game birds, how many here used to hunt ruffed grouse? back in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was my favorite animal to hunt - and they tasted GREAT. Now, thanks to the tree huggers, they have almost dissappeared from our state, so much so that there is no longer a hunting season for them.

 

[DragonGunner]

Speaking of declining game birds, how many here used to hunt ruffed grouse? back in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was my favorite animal to hunt - and they tasted GREAT. Now, thanks to the tree huggers, they have almost dissappeared from our state, so much so that there is no longer a hunting season for them.

Never even knew Indiana had any! Few years ago while deer hunting I saw pheasants for 1st time, and also we are getting more and more turkeys over the years.

 

[Slow Hand]

We hunt quail in west central and south west IN. Not many around though. We usually head up to Michigan in October to chase grouse and woodcock up there. Lots of grouse in the aspens that way. I’ve got two Gordon setters and started with an English setter.

 

[Slow Hand]

Speaking of declining game birds, how many here used to hunt ruffed grouse? back in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was my favorite animal to hunt - and they tasted GREAT. Now, thanks to the tree huggers, they have almost dissappeared from our state, so much so that there is no longer a hunting season for them.

My brother always says the best tree for grouse is the one on the back of a logging truck!

 

[Hkindiana]

Never even knew Indiana had any! Few years ago while deer hunting I saw pheasants for 1st time, and also we are getting more and more turkeys over the years.

There used to be so many ruffed grouse in Indiana that I would see them on almost every hunting trip. Besides the tree huggers RUINING THEIR HABITAT, conservation officers trapped them and traded them to Michigan in a two for one deal for wild turkeys.
Wild pheasants will not successfully reproduce in Indiana because, believe it or not, Indiana soil lacks enough lime in it for pheasant eggs to be strong (DESPITE Indiana being “the limestone capital if the world”). Most pheasant eggs in Indiana are broken by the hen lying on them, So when you see pheasants in Indiana, they have most likely beed released.

 

[Michigan Slim]

My brother always says the best tree for grouse is the one on the back of a logging truck!

He's absolutely correct. They need regenerative growth to feed. Mature stands of timber are deserts when it comes to wildlife. I'm getting ready to drop a stand of popple trees at the cabin to get regrowth.

 

[Michigan Slim]

Used to see quail in the 80s on the north side of Fort Wayne. All houses now.

 

[Slow Hand]

There used to be so many ruffed grouse in Indiana that I would see them on almost every hunting trip. Besides the tree huggers RUINING THEIR HABITAT, conservation officers trapped them and traded them to Michigan in a two for one deal for wild turkeys.
Wild pheasants will not successfully reproduce in Indiana because, believe it or not, Indiana soil lacks enough lime in it for pheasant eggs to be strong (DESPITE Indiana being “the limestone capital if the world”). Most pheasant eggs in Indiana are broken by the hen lying on them, So when you see pheasants in Indiana, they have most likely beed released.

There are still some wild pheasant in northern Indiana. We got drawn for a hunt last fall and I killed my first wild pheasant up there. Then we went to iowa and saw a bunch more but I didn’t kill any. More hens than roosters, but still neat to see 10 plus birds come up at once!

 

[Slow Hand]

He's absolutely correct. They need regenerative growth to feed. Mature stands of timber are deserts when it comes to wildlife. I'm getting ready to drop a stand of people trees at the cabin to get regrowth.

up in Michigan where we hunt, they are in Apens that grow from a root bed. They clear cut big areas and within a couple years, they are popping back up again. We hunt 5-12 year old trees because they are small enough to give cover but big enough to be spread out so the birds can take off and fly. MI’s DNR even has maps that show the ages of different firsts and whey type of trees they are and when they were logged. Seems like they make it easy for you, until you go chase birds!

We joke the forst time you go grouse hunting is for sport, the rest of the times are for revenge!

 

[yetti462]

Speaking of declining game birds, how many here used to hunt ruffed grouse? back in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was my favorite animal to hunt - and they tasted GREAT. Now, thanks to the tree huggers, they have almost dissappeared from our state, so much so that there is no longer a hunting season for them.

I miss hearing them drumming. Our Jackson county farm has a ridge my Dad named grouse ridge. We would hunt quail for most of the day then Dad's favorite thing to do before heading to the house was go to grouse ridge and see what we could flush. This ridge was a 1/4 mile deep, usually had 12 flushes. Now hitting them was the trick . Good times!!

 

[Michigan Slim]

I miss hearing them drumming. Our Jackson county farm has a ridge my Dad named grouse ridge. We would hunt quail for most of the day then Dad's favorite thing to do before heading to the house was go to grouse ridge and see what we could flush. This ridge was a 1/4 mile deep, usually had 12 flushes. Now hitting them was the trick . Good times!!

I've shot AT a lot of partridges. Pats where I'm from. Didn't know what a grouse was until I was about 14.

 

[Hardscrable]

Might sound kinda dumb. But back in the 60's and 70's here in Wabash Co. we did rabbit and quail hunting all the time. Seems like by the 80's the quail around here disappeared. Growing up use to hear them all the time, mornings and evening coming from our swamp and fields. In the 90's while deer hunting I saw a small group moving in front of me. Have not seen or heard one that I can remember since then. Lived those years in the 90's until 2012 in a small town, and now the last 10 years out in the country.
Yesterday morning I was walking out back around the house and I heard something and no kidding I stopped in my tracks, frozen in time.....some people say a smell can bring back memories...for me thats not true, its music or sound....and I just heard a sound...it can't be....then it went again...it was a Bob White as loud as could be even though it was like 200 yards away in a small woods sounding across the field. I listened to it for probably 30 minutes or so. Man, sure bought back some memories and hope increase in numbers...we got a ton of hawks and owls around here also. It has to be decades since I heard that sound.

The winters in late ‘70s and early 80’s ( especially blizzard of ‘78 ) coupled with disappearing habitat ( fence rows and wooded areas for larger farm fields & houses/factories ) pretty much sealed the demise of quail and pheasants in N. IN. Still a few pheasants around in a few areas but not many.

 

[dvd1955]

Used to hunt pheasant all the time as a youth in Benton county. Back then, a lot of farmers left the plowing until Spring, so there were lots of fields full of harvested cornrows for the pheasants to occupy. Now it seems most farmers plow all that under in the Fall, so no longer good for pheasants.

 

[trimman83]

Last time I heard a Grouse drum, then flushed it, might have been 30 years ago (Allen's Creek,HNF). I can still remember the exact spot. I have seen quail from the road (Owen Co.), but hot in the field for over 10 years. Last wild Pheasant (Not put/take) was in Sheridan. in '84.(About 200 ft from United Feeds plant) I think removal of fencerows and expansion of farm fields for maximum acreage has contributed a lot to the loss of game birds. Add Coyotes, Coons, Possum, Bobcat.........

I too miss the drum of the Grouse and the call of Bobwhite. For now I still enjoy the song of a Mourning Dove.

 

[JimH]

It's easy to blame the declining quail,turkey rabbit and other wildlife population on predators,but I honestly believe the # 1 culprit is no till farming and the wide spread use of weed killers-spray the fields with weed and insect killers at the time of year when young quail and turkeys diet is mostly insects and survival rates plummet.Probably second would be nest raiders-coons and possums.

 

[snapping turtle]

DDT and loss of habitats. I have some in the area. Normally we should start hearing them again soon. Once again the far distance neighbor a mile away has bird dogs.(GSP’s) I do believe most of the ones around are the ones raised and released for training the dogs. The smart ones don’t end up back in his catch pens and survive on the area well.

Nothing like what we used to have natural in the area but nice to have around anyway.

 

[phylodog]

We hear the Bob Whites at my hunting partner's farm on a regular basis, if not daily it's close. That's in SW Owen Co, north of Linton. I had a conversation with a couple back during turkey season.


I've never heard a pheasant crow in Indiana but I did see a wild pheasant outside of Hebron probably 25 years ago. It flushed straight away from me and my shot was blocked by another hunter. I was just excited to see one. I wish Indiana had better pheasant hunting, there's almost nothing better than hunting over a couple of well trained pointers. I've been fortunate to hunt them in Kansas and Iowa and it's on my top five list of most pleasurable activities. I heard a ton of them one year up in Michigan but it wasn't season.