Cache not at Posted Coordinates!
45° 55.925'N 94° 21.044'W On Grouse Drive
Nothing to Grouse About. I have always been a wood chicken afficianado. It is great to hear the drumming in the woods and walk for hours down quiet logging roads to find my perfect grouse. The Lindberghs spent a lot of time hunting these and other animals in their time in the little falls area. A 12 gauge is a great gun to use, but better to use a 20 gauge or .410 if you are hoping to do less damage to the bird. When cleaning you simply stand on the wings and pull. This will pop out two raquetball sized chunks of breast meat. If you have a little patience you can also get some leg meat, but diminishing returns there. Enjoy you trip to Grouse drive.
- Males have a concealed neck ruff (hence the name "ruffed grouse") that they display during courtship. Color phases range from gray to chestnut. In winter, ruffed grouse have comb-like fringes on their toes that, like snowshoes, allow for easy travel on snow.
- Length: About 12 inches.
- Weight: About 1.5 pounds.
- Each spring, male ruffed grouse perform a mating ritual that sounds like the beating of a distant drum. The male "drums" by compressing air beneath its wings. The bird makes the sound in the hopes of attracting a female grouse. Most males drum on a log, but they may also stand on roots and boulders.
- The peak of the mating season is late April. Nests are placed on the ground, usually in dense forest in a depression next to a tree trunk or stump. Hens lay about 10 to 14 eggs that hatch in 23 days. The male grouse has no parenting role. The chicks stay with the hen until late September and are fully grown in 16 weeks.
- Many animals hunt ruffed grouse, including birds of prey such as goshawk, great horned owl, and various mammals such as fox, fisher and bobcat. Humans also hunt and eat ruffed grouse.
- Ruffed grouse are found in forests from southeastern to northwestern Minnesota. During winter, ruffed grouse spend nearly all of their time in snow burrows to stay warm and avoid predators. A ruffed grouse lives most of its life within just a few acres.
- Ruffed grouse populations rise and fall at intervals of about 10 years. Many other species of wildlife such as snowshoe hares also cycle at 10-year intervals. The causes of these cycles are unknown.
Welcome to the Little Falls Area! We have a series of caches dedicated to the people that have and are making the area a great part of the Minnesota quilt. These caches are placed under the name TeamGeoPilot in honor of our team of Cache Hiders! Enjoy and hopefully you will all be Little Falls experts after you search these out.