April 5, 2009 - Ruffed Drummers

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

In the distance on a cool April morning you might hear what at first sounds like an old tractor engine struggling to start. The sound might actually be that of a Ruffed Grouse drumming. Grouse can drum in any month of the year and at any time of day or night, but their drumming usually starts in March, peaks in April and tapers off toward the end of May. Drumming serves a dual purpose for male grouse. It is used to proclaim the male’s territory and his determination to defend it. Males also use drumming to attract a female for mating. A drumming male creates the sound with an increasingly rapid flapping of its wings to produce a low booming that resonates through the forest.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.