CHARACTERISTICS 



559 



County, Minnesota in 1929 King* reported less than two grouse per 100 acres. 



Recent studies, however, are beginning to furnish a knowledge of what the range of fluctu- 

 ation may be on the same area. Thus King"", although reporting a density of 55.2 per 100 

 acres on an 1,800-acre tract in Minnesota in the fall of 1933, concluded that an average area 

 of four square miles in the same region would have dropped from about 38 to three birds per 

 100 acres from 1933 to 1936. In Michigan, Fisher'"' recorded decreases in density on the 

 same scale of from 25.6 to 4.7 (1932-1935 on Pigeon River tract of 2,520 acres), 36.4 to 

 10.3 (1932-1934 on Munuscong Park tract of 2,044 acres) and 24.1 to 2.8 (1933-1937^ on 

 Houghton Lake tract of 2.574 acres). 



With respect to the present Investigation it seems evident that the population on the Con- 

 necticut Hill study area in the fall of 1928 was below five per 100 acres. From this point 

 it rose to 21.1 in 1932 and fell to 8.0 in 1912 with several pronounced intermediate fluctua- 

 tions as shown in figure 58. On the Adirondack area the extremes were 9.0 in 1934 and 2.8 

 in 1935. 



That densities experienced during recent years have been comparable to what has been 

 considered abundance on many occasions in the past is evidenced by the fact that when the 

 grouse population on Connecticut Hill has reached or exceeded about 15 per 100 acres, it 

 has not been difficult for two men working the more likely coverts to flush more than 100 

 birds in a day. 



100 



50 



Z 

 < 



ui 



2 



O 



tc 

 u. 



z 

 o 



> 

 u 

 o 



H 



Z 50 



u 

 o 



I 

 I 

 I 



100 



FIGURE 57. 



Connec+icui Hill 

 Ad ir-oodacU. 



I 



100 



50 



50 



'-' 100 



1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 



YEAR 



RELATIVE DEGREES OF FLUCTUATION OF FALL GROUSE POPULATION DENSITIES ON 

 CONNECTICUT HILL AND ADIRONDACK AREAS — 1930-1942 



In this connection it is interesting to note that, while the densities involved on the Adiron- 

 dack area have been much less than those for Connecticut Hill, the relative degree of fluctu- 

 ation has been quite similar in both localities (figure 57). 



* Id Leopold^^. 



^ 1937 populalion estimate supplied by Michigan Conservation Dept. 



