They Will Always Be Blues

Dr. Ron Salomone from Ohio and a pair of grouse dogs soak in the view along a Colorado ridge top. (Photo/Michael Salomone)

- Michael Salomone

Autumn brings the scent of wet dogs, Hoppe’s gun oil and fallen leaves. It’s time for a change. Evidence can be found in the golden leaves of the aspens and the muted reds, purples and oranges of the scrub oaks here in the Colorado Rockies. While marveling at the natural beauty of a changing season, though, hunters need also be aware of fairly recent changes in grouse species designations, seasonal grouse habitat variations and the hunting strategies and equipment that can improve grouse hunting success.

One change North American bird hunters have had to accept occurred in 2006 when the American Ornithologists Union (AOS), the ruling body for all things bird, presented genetic testing to support dividing an extremely popular game bird, the blue grouse, into two different species Here is where diehard bird hunters may recoil. For many of us, grouse will always be blues.

Large, gray-blue grouse found throughout the Rocky Mountains that have previously been referred to as blue grouse have now become dusky grouse, according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife small game hunting brochure. This is a drastic change for locals who grew up in the mountains and for devoted bird hunters who travel to hunt here. And the blue grouse found throughout the Pacific Northwest have been reclassified as the sooty grouse.