Sonic Boom
I've never seen (or heard) as many Ruffed Grouse drumming in any one place as we did on last weeks camping trip. This one was thumping at regular intervals right next to our campsite just as we returned in the early evening. When he stopped, there were at least two or three others replying nearby.
If you've not heard it before, it's a fascinating sound - like an engine trying to start up. You can check it out here: youtu.be/MVfiIp3QGs4
They stretch up tall and puff out their chests, which made me think they were beating their chests but that's not the case at all. The male Ruffed Grouse’s signature drumming display doesn’t involve drumming on anything but air. As the bird quickly rotates its wings forward and backward, air rushes in beneath the wings creating a miniature vacuum that generates a deep, sonic boom that carries up to a quarter of a mile.
Sonic Boom
I've never seen (or heard) as many Ruffed Grouse drumming in any one place as we did on last weeks camping trip. This one was thumping at regular intervals right next to our campsite just as we returned in the early evening. When he stopped, there were at least two or three others replying nearby.
If you've not heard it before, it's a fascinating sound - like an engine trying to start up. You can check it out here: youtu.be/MVfiIp3QGs4
They stretch up tall and puff out their chests, which made me think they were beating their chests but that's not the case at all. The male Ruffed Grouse’s signature drumming display doesn’t involve drumming on anything but air. As the bird quickly rotates its wings forward and backward, air rushes in beneath the wings creating a miniature vacuum that generates a deep, sonic boom that carries up to a quarter of a mile.