It has been a whirlwind but we are home! Thankful for the experiences of the last 23 days with my friend and other half of the "Grouse Girls," Christine Pence. Seven states behind us, five unique leks (visited multiple times), 4-5 species of grassland birds (does the hybrid prairie chicken count?), 5,941 miles in our rental 4WD and only one day without constant wind. It was definitely a good start on our quest to learn more and share stories from distant prairies.  At home we've been able to rest and reflect on the journey. And go through thousands of images of course! Editing is essential. Alone I've added 190 GB's or over 15,000 images to my hard drive. Whew! I'll be at it for a while and intend to keep updating this blog with new information and interesting facts in the future. So stay tuned! In the meantime, feel free to contact Christine or me with any questions you may have. We encourage you to leave comments, send us your thoughts and images pertaining ...

  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 ...

  Christine and I made a visit to the National Museum of Wildlife Art while in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and as we walked the halls enjoying the beautiful art we came across this piece by Alexander Pope (1849-1924). The title is Hanging Grouse , c. 1890, oil on canvas. The painting depicts the now-extinct heath hen, the last living grouse known as Booming Ben who lived on Martha's Vineyard. He was last seen on his traditional lekking ground in 1932.  Heath hens ( Tympanuchus cupido cupido ) were a subspecies of the greater prairie chicken and we felt the need to tell his story.  Common during colonial times in coastal regions from southern New Hampshire to northern Virginia, heath hens were hunted by settlers and suggested to be the main course for the Pilgrim's Thanksgiving feast, not wild turkey.  The heath hen was extirpated from the mainland in 1870 due to over hunting, poaching and feral cat predation leaving only a small number (less than 200 birds) on Martha's Vi...

Upon arriving at what seemed like the top of the world in Wyoming, we reached a wide open grass and sagebrush area still covered with snow patches blown about by the wind.  Most of the sage grouse had either flown out earlier or had left the lek for the season.  One pair of males remained as we approached cautiously and then went their separate ways.  The sun rose quickly this morning, covering the area in harsh light.  This seemed to be the signal for the sage grouse to fly off to a distant area.  We then descended the mountain slowly on a dirt road that meandered around snow, mud, and through some pretty deep ruts.  

  Unlike the last three mornings, weather conditions at the lek were pleasant and tolerable. The iPhone image above captures the setting full moon, one of our blinds and the frosty lek ( what is a lek? ) where only 10 minutes later 30+ sharp-tailed grouse males began dancing for females.  Their display was also very different. This morning the birds started and stopped their drumming and dancing in unison over and over again. It was like a symphony played out before our eyes. Or as Christine puts it, the grouse are acting as if a square dance caller is directing their performance on the floor. Circle left and Do Si Do, Ladies In, Men Sashay! Watch this one minute video below to get a glimpse of the action.  A pronghorn came to watch the show this morning and a coyote lit by the moon traveled quite a distance on a far hill. Possibly curious, possibly kept away because of our presence. We try our best to remain quiet and unobtrusive in our blind not to disturb or change th...

The South Dakota prairie continues to be cold and windy.  That did not seem to be a concern for the Sharp-tailed Grouse this morning. We headed out to the lek at 5 am today bundled up again in all we owned since it was 22F with just a slight 11 mph wind gently bending the grasses. By 5:45 am, the birds were dancing all over the lek as the sky lightened slowly before 6:06 am sunrise. We never got the yellow sunlight.  Snow was predicted so the sky was low and grey...tough conditions for photographing. In the first image above, the typical hovering aircraft position is one of several behaviors of this grouse species.  The males hop a little, strut around in this fighter jet position with very quick short running steps, and then confront another male to begin the dance again.  We saw more than 30 birds this morning. It is always hard to count and photograph and keep the trigger finger warm.  We were positioned well today with many observation choices.

  Christine and I thought we would have a solid day of sharp-tailed grouse photography behind us and ready to share images. But with temperatures in the mid teens and wind chill factor at near -3 degrees, we thought better of visiting the blind this morning.  Yes, we "chickened" out. Wind whipped up large particles of dust and flying debris so powerful it was almost impossible to open a car door or a window to photograph from. Smartphones were our friend today. A couple minutes outside the vehicle and you felt your bones begin to freeze, the grit in your teeth and foreign particles in your eyes.  The chances we were going to find any animal out and about, including grouse on a lek, was unlikely. So we made the decision to sleep in and wait until the weather improved. Tomorrows forecast is no different but we have two more days in South Dakota and two more chances at photographing the "sharpies" (sharp-tailed grouse) we came for.  Further disappointing news came from...