In 2017 my literature from being a PA Grouse Collaborator had a little side note. Now instead of doing paper surveys for Woodcock and Grouse flush counts you could install an app on your Android or iOS Device. I’m not above sending those little index cards in at the end of the hunting season, but given that I keep OK records as is I wanted to take better ones this year. I installed the app and took it for a spin.
At a glance
From the main screen you can report your hunting stats for each outing including the duration hunted, the county and township, as well as the critter hunted. This can be kept in the journal and then eventually submitted for review by game commission biologists, helping their research and informing conservation rules and regulations.
When you fire up the app it warns you that it’s no longer grouse season, PA got rid of the late season Ruffed Grouse season this year because of declining numbers. You only have a couple different options, first you should fire up Manage Profile and fill out your information that should make sure that you’re on the Ruffed Grouse (and Woodcock) cooperators list. This will help track your reports and ensure that you’re on the mailing list that Lisa Williams at the PA Game Commission helps manage.
Fill out your reports and they get categorized into the “Unsubmitted Reports” section of the app. From there, if you’re like me and keep your records on paper and submit them at the end of the year you can submit all the reports in one bundle. Not that I’m super bad at math, but it keeps a running tally of your flush count for both Grouse and Woodcock separately, and I love that.
Overall
It’s a super simple app, but it replaces paper journals and index cards that are often misplaced. Since I track flush counts in Google Docs anyway on my phone, this was a much better option. I haven’t sat down and done any security testing on it, but the permissions are easily viewable in the Android App Store. If you hunt the Keystone state and love the state bird, give the app a spin and help out your biologists!
