Finally some good news for Minnesota's bird hunters: The ruffed grouse population should be strong again this fall.

Spring drumming counts this year were higher than last year across most of the bird's range. In the northeast survey area, which includes the core grouse range, the population -- as measured by the number of grouse drumming heard per stop along established routes – was up 18 percent.

"The grouse population is probably still near the high end of the 10-year cycle," said Mike Larson, DNR research scientist and grouse biologist. Ruffed grouse populations tend to follow on a 10-year boom-to-bust cycle. The positive news is especially good considering pheasants – the state's other major upland bird – likely suffered losses last winter and have had a poor spring nesting season because of the cool, rainy weather. In the ruffed grouse report released Monday by the Department of Natural Resources, observers recorded 1.7 drums per stop statewide. The averages for 2009 and 2010 were 2.0 and 1.5 drums per stop, respectively. That's not statistically a big change from last year. But the 18 percent increase in the northeast is significant. And the counts were up 16 percent to 2.1 drums per stop in the northwest and up 32 percent to 0.4 drums per stop in the southeast. The only bad news: The counts were down 17 percent, to 0.8 drums per stop, in the central hardwoods region. Ruffed grouse populations, which tend to rise and fall on a 10-year cycle, are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout the state's forested regions. Minnesota frequently is the nation's top ruffed grouse producer. On average, 115,000 hunters harvest 545,000 ruffed grouse in Minnesota each year, making it the state's most popular game bird. During the peak years of 1971 and 1989, hunters harvested more than 1 million ruffed grouse. Michigan and Wisconsin, which frequently field more hunters than Minnesota, round out the top three states in ruffed grouse harvest. The DNR says one reason for the Minnesota's status as a top grouse producer is an abundance of aspen and other ruffed grouse habitat, much of it located on county, state and national forests, where public hunting is allowed. An estimated 11.5 million of the state's 16.3 million acres of forest are grouse habitat. Here's the ruffed grouse survey area map:

Sharp-tailed grouse decrease slightly Sharp-tailed grouse counts in the northwest survey region decreased approximately 16 percent between 2010 and 2011, Larson said. Counts in the east-central region declined approximately 18 percent. This year's statewide average of 10.2 grouse counted per dancing ground was similar to the long-term average since 1980. Last year's average of 10.7 grouse per dancing ground was down from the 2009 average of 13.6, which was as high as during any year since 1980. During the last 25 years, the sharp-tailed grouse index has been as low as seven birds counted per dancing ground. Overall, sharp-tail populations appear to have declined over the long term as a result of habitat deterioration. To see the DNR's grouse survey report, which contains information on both ruffed grouse and sharp-tailed grouse, see www.mndnr.gov/hunting/grouse.