A Sunday drive through Oil Creek State Park turned up six white-tailed deer, including a beautiful and alarmingly brave buck, as well as a ring-necked pheasant, three common mergansers, a couple belted kingfishers and dozens of blue jays and dark-eyed juncos.

But this guy stole the show:

This male ruffed grouse either believed our car was a female or it simply liked showing off. It used about 2 full minutes to cross a one-lane road just feet in front of the car, in full display most of the time. It couldn’t have walked more slowly if it was dragging a Olympic weight.

The creek was high but barely tinted. It appears to be very fishable today.

The French Creek Valley/Erie Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will host its 14th annual Conservation and Sportsmen’s Banquet Sept. 28 at the Erie Maennerchor Club, 1607 State St.

The evening will start with a reception party at 6 p.m. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.

Individual membership and dinner tickets are $55; family membership package — which includes two dinners — is $90, with additional family dinners available at $35 each. Banquet, Conservation and Sustaining sponsorship packages are also available at $275, $500 and $1,000 respectively.

Those under the age of 16 who recently took and passed a hunter education course and/or women who have participated in a recent Outdoors Women program, and can verify same; will receive a complimentary dinner ticket when accompanied by a paying adult.

RGS regional biologist Linda Ordiway is the scheduled guest speaker. Ordiway will discuss the chapters habitat project on State Game Land 101.

The evening will feature a live and silent auction, games, drawings and door prizes, highlighted by firearms, artwork and collectibles.

For tickets, call Dan Jr. tonight at (814) 434-5272 or Michelle Friday during the day at (814) 774-9621.

Proceeds will be used to restore and protect grouse and woodcock habitat.

The Allegheny Northwoods Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will host a sporting clays fun shoot Feb. 18 at the Sandy Creek Conservancy, 688 Polk Cutoff, Franklin.

Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. and shooting at 9 a.m.

Registration fee is $50 per shooter, or $55 after Feb. 13, and includes 100 targets, lunch and a free ticket on a specially selected shotgun for every 10 broken targets.

Proceeds will be used to restore and protect grouse and woodcock habitat

For information, contact Dave Galbreath at (814) 226-5574 or dgalbreath@zoominternet.net.

Get your tickets now for the Erie Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society’s 13th annual Sportsmen’s Banquet Sept. 8 at the Erie Maennerchor Club. Cocktails and raffles start at 6, dinner at 7:30.

Cost is $55 per ticket or $85 for a family (including two dinners).

For information, call Michell at (814) 774-9621 or, after 5 p.m., Dan Wingerter Jr. at (814) 434-5272.

Saturday, with its early sun and high temperature, projected as a great day to toss nymphs at the trout in the Delayed Harvest-Articial Lures Only section of Oil Creek at Petroleum Center, Venango County.

Turns out I wasn’t the only one with that idea. The best (or at least the most easily accessible) holding areas in the catch-and-release section were populated with winter-weary anglers trying their best to lure trout to the surface with dry flies. The guys from Lake Erie Ultimate Angler say they had some success up top on Friday, but Saturday’s afternoon winds made the exercise pointless. Hard to say how the fellow barely visible at a downstream elbow was faring, but virtually all others slowly surrendered and trudged to their vehicles.

The wind prohibitive, the holes filled, I never broke out the rod. But a drive around Oil Creek State Park always is revealing, and Saturday didn’t disappont.

First there was this guy:

This Ruffed Grouse, Pennsylvania’s official state bird, was in full display for one reason:

This Ruffed Grouse hen perched a few feet above him on a tree branch. Neither bird was more than 5 feet off a back-road entrance into the state park. My wife (who took the photos) and I couldn’t hear any drumming, but with ruff and crest up, he clearly was in the mood.

The park staff lists Ruffed Grouse as commonly sighted year-round park residents. But as much time as we spend in the park, we saw just one bird in 2009, so this close-up was a thrill.

We entered the park off Route 8 at Cherry Tree on Oil Creek Township Road 617 because the the bridge on Petroleum Center Road has been out for repairs since last fall. Entrance to the park at Plumer off Route 227 also was limited by construction. Good excuse to find new touring roads in and around the park.

At the park’s east border, on White City Road, hundreds of ATVs roared in and out of side roads and trails. I’m still not sure what the gathering was all about, but the riders were having a muddy good time. Most seemed to hew to the east side of the road, outside the park.