Our newest article! It's Christine and Sandy here inviting you to read our latest publication in the 2025 North American Grouse Partnership Annual Magazine. This year we write about the greater prairie chicken in Yuma County, Colorado and how populations are doing today. Included are factors that limit growth and ranchers who are conservation heroes for the birds, prairies and other wildlife that depend on grasslands to exist. Read the article by clicking on the image above. If this is the first time reading our blog, welcome! We are losing two million acres of prairies each year to a number of factors. If we don't protect them now it will be too late. Learn more about the work attributed to the North American Grouse Partnership group and their partners HERE . If you love prairies, specifically the wildlife who call prairies home, consider becoming a member or making a donation. Christine and I are heading out to study Bi-State grouse along th...
Attwater's Prairie Chicken nest photographed at recovery center Sandy here. It is mid-May and most grouse activity at leks are winding down. I dream that all those ladies who are sitting on eggs are safe and a plentiful crop of new grouse are on their way to building the population. This Spring season found me in Eastern Colorado where we had an epic year photographing the greater prairie chicken on a private ranch. Lots of activity including rare sightings at the lek which added to the experience and amused the guests. Burrowing owls and black tailed prairie dogs delighted us with their antics. Everyone was able to tell battling grouse stories in addition to owl mating and more. Below is...
We spent the early morning hours on the sage grouse lek where our journey began one year ago on April 1, 2021. The sage grouse were barely visible in the Waning Gibbous moonlight, but the booming could be heard clearly. The above booming sequence gives you a little idea of the physical changes in the sage grouse as it lifts and fans its tail feathers, fills its yellow sacs with air, stretches up tall, drops its chest while deflating the sacs, and finally returns to its resting state. The booms sound a bit like popping water balloons and gurgles. As the morning light rises on the lek, the tail feather shadows draw across the back of the male creating interesting patterns, and then the grouse and sun move. This year we were on the lek site toward the end of April which meant the birds stayed around a little longer in better light for photography and it was warmer at 46F. Finally, the magic moment came, seemingly at the same time as the arrival of ...
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