C.T.J. - Woodland Drummer Traditional Cache
C.T.J. - Woodland Drummer
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is placed out on the Heritage Nature Trail behind the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center. Be sure to visit the museum (Free of charge) and sign the visitors log. Make a note that you were there geocaching. (A Recreational Passport for your vehicle is needed to park at the Carl T. however).
The Ruffed Grouse is the most widely dispersed Gamebird in North America, living in all the Canadian Provinces and in 38 of the 49 states on the Continent.
Ruffed Grouse are Brownish in color and somewhat larger than a Pigeon, living their entire life in Woodlands. The Name "Ruffed" comes from the long, shiny black or chocolate colored neck feathers that are prominent in the males. When the male is in full display in defense of his territory or showing off for a hen, he extends these feathers into a spectacular ruff along with his full fanned tail to make him look twice his normal size. The males will have a solid band across the end of his tail, while in the hens, this band will be broken in the center.
Ruffed Grouse eat a variety of green leaves, fruits and some insects. They have also been known to eat frogs, snakes, and salamanders. When the snow covers the ground they almost exclusively eat the dormant flower buds (catkins) of trees like Aspens, Birch, Cherries, and Filberts.
These birds are normally solitary in their social behavior. They do not bond between males and females. The males are very territorial defending their piece of woodland that is usually 6 - 10 acres in size. He proclaims his territory by using a "drumming" display. This sound is made by the male beating his wings against the air creating a vacuum as he stands on a log, stone, or mound of dirt. (This object is called a Drumming Log.) He does not strike the log to make the sound but just uses it for display.
Drumming occurs year round but in the spring it is much more frequent and prolonged as he advertises his location to hens looking for a mate. Courtship is very brief, then the hen wanders off alone looking for a nest site. There is no further association between the male and the hen or the chicks she produces. The hen may make her nest up to a 1/2 mile away, laying 8 - 14 eggs in a hollowed out depression of leaf litter usually at the base of a tree, stump, or clump of brush. The eggs are laid at a rate of 1 each day and a half and hatch in 24 - 26 days.
The chicks are Precocial, which means as soon as they are dried from hatching the are able to leave the nest and start feeding themselves. They are very mobile with the ability to travel over a 1/4 mile a day at 3 - 4 days old, and can fly at just 5 days old. The rapidly growing chicks need a great deal of protein so they feed heavily on insects the first few weeks. At 17 weeks old they have grown from about the size of a mans thumb when hatched to almost as large and heavy as they will ever be.
At 16 - 18 weeks, the young Grouse will break away from the brood in search of a home range of their own. The young males are first to leave and most will find a suitable site within 1.8 miles of the brood. Many young males will claim a "Drumming Log" by the time they are 20 weeks old and will spend the remainder of their life within a 200 - 300 yard radius of that log.
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Congrats to the top 3 cachers:
Ranger 4+1 = FTF
Tim and Trish = 2nd to find
Basshunter46&Kat = 3rd to find
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