While we were out tracking skunks yesterday (and there was plenty of track as they wake for the breeding season) we flushed a Ruffed Grouse. As usual it beat out of cover but then slammed into tree branches much like a flushed turkey.
It was a few minutes later when we heard wing flutter and closed on the grounded grouse which appeared to have a damaged wing. We recovered the bird and delivered it to a Schuyler rehabber. We've spent a lot of time birding and generally off the beaten path over the years but this is the first such incident we've ever seen or heard of. Thought we'd pass it along. Have any of you seen/heard of such an avian accident? -- John and Sue Gregoire Field Ornithologists Kestrel Haven Avian Migration Observatory 5373 Fitzgerald Road Burdett,NY 14818-9626 Website: http://www.empacc.net/~kestrelhaven/ "Conserve and Create Habitat" -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
