Grouse in east TN?

[Cptmorgan177]

Does anyone know if there are grouse in east TN? I friend of mine said he saw a few near crossville.

[JWinTN]

Well, I know there are grouse in Northeast Tennessee, don't personally know about farther south.

[Oh Shoot]

Didn't realize they had gotten this sparse:

"The range of the Ruffed Grouse in Tennessee once extended throughout East and most of Middle Tennessee. Currently, it is found only on the Cumberland Plateau and the high ridges and mountains of eastern Tennessee."

from:

Tennessee Watchable Wildlife | Ruffed Grouse

They were fairly common around McMinn and Meigs county and Tellico and Ocoee areas when I was young.

We also had them in Union County on sides of Clinch Mt. in the late 80's, the last time I personally saw any, but I've been a townie for a long time and haven't trekked around much since then.

Friend lives up on TN/NC line near Max Patch and says grouse are still pretty common up there.

Used to be quail on edges of about every field I tramped through growing up too, damn near endangered species now.

- OS

Edited November 18, 2011 by OhShoot

[Guest pfries]

There is one left in my freezer? I am in north east TN and we have a few here. I take a couple off the property if I can during season, over all I am trying to let the population stabilize as the first few years here I saw none.

[Guest lostpass]

Didn't realize they had gotten this sparse:

"The range of the Ruffed Grouse in Tennessee once extended throughout East and most of Middle Tennessee. Currently, it is found only on the Cumberland Plateau and the high ridges and mountains of eastern Tennessee."

from:

Tennessee Watchable Wildlife | Ruffed Grouse

They were fairly common around McMinn and Meigs county and Tellico and Ocoee areas when I was young.

We also had them in Union County on sides of Clinch Mt. in the late 80's, the last time I personally saw any, but I've been a townie for a long time and haven't trekked around much since then.

Friend lives up on TN/NC line near Max Patch and says grouse are still pretty common up there.

Used to be quail on edges of about every field I tramped through growing up too, damn near endangered species now.

- OS

I've heard the decline in quail is directly related to the popularity of fescue. Does that seem right? I saw them a a lot as a kid in nebraska (we called them bobwhites) but now they you mention it I've only seen them once in tenn. Kinda sad, I sued to see them all the time...

[Oh Shoot]

I've heard the decline in quail is directly related to the popularity of fescue. Does that seem right?...

Like for the thousands of other species we've decimated or made extinct, just an overall loss of habitat due to too many bipeds, methinks.

I'll take the USDA's hypothesis as accurate enough (quoted from: http://www.tn.gov/twra/quail.html):

"...bobwhite populations have decreased significantly in recent years, as much as 70 to 90 percent in some areas. Among the most influential impacts reducing northern bobwhite numbers continues to be the loss of nesting and protective cover. The removal of overgrown hedgerows, fencerows, and windbreaks from agricultural fields and rural landscapes;

the conversion of open, native grasslands, woodland edge, and other idle habitat to introduced grasses and developed lands; clean farming operations and the increased use of agrichemicals; increased grazing pressure; intensive fire control; removal of timber and brush over broad areas; and the spraying and mowing of highway and utility rights-of-way has reduced or eliminated bobwhite populations from traditionally occupied areas across the United States."

- OS

[DaveS]

Our quail are disapearing at an alarming rate. I have never seen grouse here, and soon, the quail will be forever gone. A sad situation!