The Importance of the Willow Grouse
In the old days, the
Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus) was an important addition to the diet
and to the income of the people in Lapland. It has been the most valuable game
bird, and its value used to be more stable than the value of money. Therefore it
was caught whenever possible. Every five years the winter was particularly good
for hunting Willow grouse. The number of them varied a lot in different times
and places. “Sometimes it falls on the ground like snow, and sometimes it
disappears altogether.” (S. Paulaharju, Taka-Lappia. 1965).
The Willow grouse was in great demand: in Inari and Teno, for example,
Norwegians bought the birds and sold them to England. The birds exported to
England had to be clean, and the head under the wing it looked like a
tear-shaped bundle. Willow grouse was exchanged for flour, margarine, grits,
coffee, sugar and other non-perishable foodstuff.
Traps have been the most important method for catching the Willow grouse. The
local residents are still allowed to hunt with traps. The best hunting season is
from January to the middle of March.
The Art and Knowledge of Catching the Willow Grouse in the Old Days
It was believed that
during the waxing moon the Willow grouse would move upstream and during the
waning moon downstream. When the moon is waxing, the Willow grouse runs long
distances on the snow and will more likely be caught. The period when the moon
is waning is not so good for hunting, because the Willow grouse tends to spend
time in dense mountain birch forests, where catching it is not easy, and if it
goes to open land, it will mostly fly and only stop for a short while on the
snow.
Willow grouse hunting is like fishing: mysteriously, sometimes one hunter
catches many and the other one few or none. The deciding factor in Willow grouse
hunting is the size of the loop in the trap. Also the time of the day is
important: the Willow grouse moves in the morning and in the evening, and sleeps
during the midday and the night. The weather also affects the hunting luck.
During a cold flurry of snow, or immediately afterwards, the bird will walk into
the trap easily. Weather forecasts have also been made by observing it: “When
the Willow grouse laughs at dusk, the weather will be windy and it will start
snowing. And if the bird miaows, it will just start snowing but not be windy.”
(J. Turi, Kertomus saamelaisista. 1979).
A trap is made by building a fence of birch branches or willows. Holes (or
“gates”) are left in the fence, large enough for the Willow grouse to walk
through. A loop was made of old hemp string and it was attached with pieces of
birch bark to the branch or the sticks on the sides of the gate. Later, brass
string was used, tied to the sides of the gate. The idea of the trap was that
while the bird is eating buds and catkins off the fence, it will try to walk
through the gate. Traps were built in places where the birds usually moved, in
thin birch and willow forests, especially along rivers. Traps make no noise and
they do not frighten other birds away.
Hunters Stayed in Turf Huts
During the best Willow grouse catching season, the men of the fells lived in
turf huts in the hunting area for weeks. The traps had to be checked early in
the morning, so that foxes and ravens would not get their share. When returning
to the hut, the bird had to be put on a clean place, so that the good hunting
luck would continue. One man was able to look after about four hundred traps a
day. Hunters never announced how many birds they had caught, because “there is a
lot of envy in the world”.
