Jim is really good at tracking down interesting things to
photograph. He picked me up at 6:15 AM
and we drove to an area where he had seen grouse the previous day. It was well before sunrise when we got there, and there were no grouse. An hour or so
later, the sun came up and we saw a few in the distance. They were easy to see because of their bright
white collars. Jim put his truck in 4wd to
drive across country where we found a lek with dozens of male sage-grouse.
The males put on a wonderful display, fanning their tails,
strutting, and inflating air sacs in their chests. Sometimes their heads almost disappeared into
their feathers because the air sacs were so big. They deflate these sacs with an audible POP,
which I suppose is meant to be irresistible to the hens.
We were very close to the action, but most of the males
didn’t seem to care and continued with their displays, but the females kept
their distance. After a half hour of
watching and taking pictures we left, and we hope that the cautious hens came
to the lek in response to these remarkable displays. Just one or two dominant males will mate with
all the females, so presenting an impressive display is really important.
The greater sage-grouse was considered for placement on the
endangered species list, but that would have had a big impact on ranching, oil
and gas exploration, etc. An effort
to improve sagebrush habitat had a positive impact on sage-grouse survival and avoided
placement on the list, at least for now.
Please note that my photos are copyrighted and must not be
used without my permission.
