Author Topic: Prairie Chicken? (Read 14680 times)

alecvg · « **on:** May 08, 2009, 01:33:59 PM »

I saw one (and have pics) near Winthrop last week, are these rare? Never seen one efore. I don't know anything about upland, is there a season for them?

bobcat · « **Reply #1 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:35:51 PM »

It's not a prairie chicken, probably a sharptail grouse. I think the WDFW has been trying to get them reestablished in previously occupied habitat.

alecvg · « **Reply #2 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:37:57 PM »

I looked at pics of both, and it looked more like a praire chicken to me... imo

bobcat · « **Reply #3 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:42:30 PM »

Well it could either be a sharptail grouse or a sage grouse. Here's some info that might help:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/research/papers/sage_grouse/

jackelope · « **Reply #4 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:59:46 PM »

Quote

The Greater Prairie Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido, is a large bird in the grouse family. This North American species was once abundant, but has become extremely rare or extinct over much of its range due to habitat loss. There are current efforts to help this species gain the numbers that it once had. One of the most famous aspects of these creatures is the mating ritual called booming.

i don't know anything about them either....no season on them that i've ever heard of.

post the pics. are yousure it wasn't a sharptail grouse?

boneaddict · « **Reply #5 on:** May 08, 2009, 02:09:17 PM »

Sharptailed are very closely related to the prarie chicken and look most similiar, ESPECIALLY the females. They have the same mating behavior. That would be my guess. otherwise I'd think that somebody's pet got away, kind of like finding a Silver pheasant in the Wenas.

DOUBLELUNG · « **Reply #6 on:** May 08, 2009, 02:14:43 PM »

Quote from: boneaddict on May 08, 2009, 02:09:17 PM

Otherwise I'd think that somebody's pet got away, kind of like finding a Silver pheasant in the Wenas.

Kind of like that male Mearns quail I saw one spring west of Waterville!

boneaddict · « **Reply #7 on:** May 08, 2009, 02:18:14 PM »

Yep.....make you do a doubletake?

jackelope · « **Reply #8 on:** May 08, 2009, 02:21:30 PM »

...or the peacock in full strut at totem lake a couple years ago..was that yours too?

boneaddict · « **Reply #9 on:** May 08, 2009, 04:37:10 PM »

I've had one escape and I found out where he went.....over by JDB's house.

A gal was trying to get rid of some of hers and I had a buyer. I went there and she told me a story about how this big beautiful one showed up. Sure as heck it had my band around his leg. Thats about 12 miles away I guess. The other ones that got out I put a 22 through their skull. A man does not need stray peafowl running around in his garden. That and they get up on the penned up ones cage and drives the caged ones nuts. NUTS= NOISE

DOUBLELUNG · « **Reply #10 on:** May 08, 2009, 04:51:16 PM »

Quote from: boneaddict on May 08, 2009, 02:18:14 PM

Yep.....make you do a doubletake?

Big time. Much more so than the Egyptian goose i saw flying up the Yakima west of E-burg!

jackelope · « **Reply #11 on:** May 08, 2009, 04:53:03 PM »

that peacock i'm sure came from the chateau st michelle winery. not 12 miles away, but close to that.

Curly · « **Reply #12 on:** May 08, 2009, 05:02:53 PM »

Quote from: bobcat on May 08, 2009, 01:35:51 PM

It's not a prairie chicken, probably a sharptail grouse. I think the WDFW has been trying to get them reestablished in previously occupied habitat.

How do you know for sure that it could not be a sage grouse? Alec did not post pics that I'm aware of.

We've seen quite a few sage grouse near Moses Coulee. I suppose it is possible that there could be sage grouse near Winthrop too.

bobcat · « **Reply #13 on:** May 08, 2009, 05:16:51 PM »

I didn't say it wasn't a sage grouse. I said it wasn't a prairie chicken. Two different species. I thought it was probably a sharptail grouse because they look like prairie chickens. Sage grouse do not.

alecvg · « **Reply #14 on:** May 08, 2009, 05:29:33 PM »

I will try to post the pics tonight.

Curly · « **Reply #15 on:** May 08, 2009, 06:06:16 PM »

My mistake. I thought prairie chicken was just slang for sage grouse..........

boneaddict · « **Reply #16 on:** May 08, 2009, 06:52:33 PM »

Prairie chickens are closer relatives thus looking like them(sharp-tailed) than the sage grouse. I have heard of them planting sharpies in the Methow, so.........good likelyhood thats what he saw. Obviously thats a deduction.

Da stump · « **Reply #17 on:** May 08, 2009, 07:40:18 PM »

I grew up in Montana and used to call them sage hens if we are talking about the same bird. When i was a kid there used to be quite a few of them. I guess not many made it to the ark.

rasbo · « **Reply #18 on:** May 08, 2009, 08:06:16 PM »

Quote from: Da stump on May 08, 2009, 07:40:18 PM

I grew up in Montana and used to call them sage hens if we are talking about the same bird. When i was a kid there used to be quite a few of them. I guess not many made it to the ark.

x2 thats what we called them in se Idaho..dry frigging meat

yelp · « **Reply #19 on:** May 08, 2009, 09:04:52 PM »

Columbian Sharp-tailed grouse and greater Sage Grouse are both natives to Washington. Columbian Sharp-tailed grouse are located in several areas of Okanogan county...Scotch Creek, Chesaw, Tunk Valley, and places in between. Sharp-tailed grouse also are located on the COlville reservation, Douglas County, parts of Grant County and Lincoln County Sage Grouse are primarily located in Douglas County and Yakima Counties. Sage Grouse are the largest. They strut on Breeding Leks (dancing grounds)From March to May. Sharp-tailed grouse dance on breeding leks by stomping feet and moving along ground with wings out like an airplane. When they flush they make a tuk tuk tuk sound.

Tom Reichner · « **Reply #20 on:** May 09, 2009, 10:38:53 AM »

Quote from: Curly on May 08, 2009, 05:02:53 PM

How do you know for sure that it could not be a sage grouse? Alec did not post pics that I'm aware of.

No one said it couldn't be a Sage Grouse. Until now . . . if it was near Winthrop, it wasn't a Sage Grouse. The habitat around the Winthrop area is all wrong for Sage Grouse. It's a completely different environment than that around Moses Coulee. There are Sage Grouse in northcentral Washington, but not in the higher, wetter, more wooded areas like Winthrop.

As for it being a Prairie Chicken, well, it really couldn't have been that, either. They don't even exist in Washington. According to the Audubon Society, the very nearest Greater Prairie Chicken population is smack dab in the middle of South Dakota - that's half a continent away. The closest Lesser Prairie Chicken population is down where Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico meet.

I really look forward to seeing the pictures - hope they get posted soon.

PS: Here are a couple photos I took a couple weeks ago of a northcentral WA Sage Grouse. Keep in mind these are very large birds - approximately 3 times bigger than a Sharptail Grouse or a Prairie Chicken (6 to 7 pounds compared to 2 pounds). It'd be really hard to confuse a Greateer Sage Grouse with any other gamebird.

bobcat · « **Reply #21 on:** May 09, 2009, 01:58:22 PM »

Great sage grouse pictures!

TeacherMan · « **Reply #22 on:** May 09, 2009, 02:07:47 PM »

Nice pics!!!

old boat · « **Reply #23 on:** May 10, 2009, 03:44:20 PM »

I think he saw a Heath hen! We used to have them back east when I was younger, looks like a sharptail but they used to like the wetter, forrested meadows. Tasted good, easy to catch, but my friends say they're not as numerous as they once were.

WDFW-SUX · « **Reply #24 on:** May 10, 2009, 03:49:10 PM »

I want to shoot a sage grouse soooooooo bad

Tom Reichner · « **Reply #25 on:** May 10, 2009, 04:02:34 PM »

Quote from: WDFW-SUX on May 10, 2009, 03:49:10 PM

I want to shoot a sage grouse soooooooo bad

Me too. Unfortunately, I'll have to be content to "shoot" them with a camera for now.

alecvg · « **Reply #26 on:** May 10, 2009, 09:03:08 PM »

I will have pics up tonight or tomarrow.

yelp · « **Reply #27 on:** May 11, 2009, 07:07:32 AM »

Quote from: Tom Reichner on May 09, 2009, 10:38:53 AM

Quote from: Curly on May 08, 2009, 05:02:53 PM
How do you know for sure that it could not be a sage grouse? Alec did not post pics that I'm aware of.

No one said it couldn't be a Sage Grouse. Until now . . . if it was near Winthrop, it wasn't a Sage Grouse. The habitat around the Winthrop area is all wrong for Sage Grouse. It's a completely different environment than that around Moses Coulee. There are Sage Grouse in northcentral Washington, but not in the higher, wetter, more wooded areas like Winthrop.

As for it being a Prairie Chicken, well, it really couldn't have been that, either. They don't even exist in Washington. According to the Audubon Society, the very nearest Greater Prairie Chicken population is smack dab in the middle of South Dakota - that's half a continent away. The closest Lesser Prairie Chicken population is down where Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico meet.

I really look forward to seeing the pictures - hope they get posted soon.

PS: Here are a couple photos I took a couple weeks ago of a northcentral WA Sage Grouse. Keep in mind these are very large birds - approximately 3 times bigger than a Sharptail Grouse or a Prairie Chicken (6 to 7 pounds compared to 2 pounds). It'd be really hard to confuse a Greateer Sage Grouse with any other gamebird.

Like Tom said process of knowing these birds in their habitat. Now with that said..there have been reports of Sage grouse around the Brewster Area, parts of the Chiliwist Area may have a report or two. Sometimes weird things happen. The shrub-steppe habitat type does go up the valley aways. Also Sage grouse usually migrate during winter months to lower elevations so that is another reason for not thinking it was a sage grouse. Prairie Chickens just don't exist in Washington that I am aware of. I say that what he saw was a Sharp-tailed grouse, Blue grouse, Ruff grouse, Spruce grouse and possibly a Sage Grouse but it would be weird to see one up there..

Wyoming is the best chance of shooting a Sage Grouse, not sure about Montana. We shot a couple back in Wyoming on our antelope hunt. We got one mounted...pretty sweet.

Tom nice pics...

luvtohnt · « **Reply #28 on:** May 11, 2009, 07:17:25 AM »

Quote from: WDFW-SUX on May 10, 2009, 03:49:10 PM

I want to shoot a sage grouse soooooooo bad

I got to shoot some in Wyoming 3 years ago. I was useing my uncles over/under and did not open it far enough to cock it, so I missed my first flush. I could have had my limit! O well I may have picture some where. Sorry

Brandon

boneaddict · « **Reply #29 on:** May 11, 2009, 05:02:44 PM »

OUTSTANDING photo op Tom. Thats a dream of mine right there. I didn't realize we had any in Yakima. I'd sure like to find them.

Tom Reichner · « **Reply #30 on:** May 11, 2009, 05:38:12 PM »

Hi, Bone!

If you really want to photograph one badly - well, I'll take you out after them next spring (they're finished displaying for the year now).

Only catch is, it requires alot of "want to". The birds fly into the lek in the late evening, just after darkness sets in - usually about 8:15pm. They dance and display (and sometimes fight) for about an hour. Then they just sleep. They roost right there on the ground in the lek, each in it's position.

In the morning, they start to dance again at about 4:30am. It gets light enough to get good images by around 5:45 if it's clear. They dance and display until anywhere from 7 to 8. Then they fly away and leave the lek until evening comes once again.

So, you see, if you tried to approach the lek in the morning, you'd scare the grouse away - or at the least disturb them. So what I did to be in position at the right time is to go in the evening before and set up a pup-tent. Look for dancing Sage Grouse tracks in the dirt to see where the most advantageous spot for the tent is. Then set it up and you get all your stuff set up the way you want it in the tent. Then get inside the tent and close it up by 8pm - before the grouse start coming in. Then you sleep there all night, amongst the grouse!

You'll want to have a slit cut in the side of the tent so that you can stick your lens thru. You really want the camera & lens to be on a tripod for this. Handholding the camera for this setup would be a disaster, and probably result in the birds being spooked away.

When it starts to get light, you'll already be in place - right in the middle of a bunch of dancing grouse in their lek! If you positioned the tent correctly, you should have a dancing grouse within very close range. If you're quiet and careful, you can photograph the whole time the grouse are there, without scaring them off. You may see them fight. You may see them copulate. That's the great thing about being in a "blind" - you never know what you'll get to see!

Obviously, it's a rather uncomfortable endeavor - who wants to sleep out all night by themselves in a cramped old army pup-tent? Who wants to pack all the gear in to the lek? But if you're willing to do the work and put up with the discomfort, the images you can capture will be more than worth it.

Here's another pic of a grouse, along with one of the pup-tent setup.

boneaddict · « **Reply #31 on:** May 11, 2009, 07:52:50 PM »

WOW. That is hardcore and very cool. I'd have screwed it up and tried to stalk them in the dark. I'd have never thought that possible. COOL

RPM · « **Reply #32 on:** May 11, 2009, 11:24:08 PM »

awsome

popeshawnpaul · « **Reply #33 on:** May 12, 2009, 12:16:28 AM »

Great pictures Tom. That's hardcore shooting.

bowhunterforever · « **Reply #34 on:** May 12, 2009, 12:38:14 AM »

Quote from: popeshawnpaul on May 12, 2009, 12:16:28 AM

Great pictures Tom. That's hardcore shooting.

T-Bone · « **Reply #35 on:** May 12, 2009, 06:57:55 AM »

Quote from: old boat on May 10, 2009, 03:44:20 PM

I think he saw a Heath hen! We used to have them back east when I was younger, looks like a sharptail but they used to like the wetter, forrested meadows. Tasted good, easy to catch, but my friends say they're not as numerous as they once were.

That's a good one, old boat; the Eastern Prairie Chicken or Heath Hen has been EXTINCT since 1928!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_hen

teal101 · « **Reply #36 on:** May 15, 2009, 10:18:03 AM »

I have a buddy who has seen the sage grouse in Chelan county before along Lake Entiat. I still haven't seen any and would love to one day.

Hillbilly270 · « **Reply #37 on:** May 15, 2009, 10:32:23 AM »

great pictures and thanks for the effort. you must not snore very loud tom. if i tried that there would be no wildlife within a square mile of my tent.

Tom Reichner · « **Reply #38 on:** June 15, 2009, 03:15:39 PM »

Quote from: alecvg on May 08, 2009, 05:29:33 PM

I will try to post the pics tonight.

Quote from: alecvg on May 10, 2009, 09:03:08 PM

I will have pics up tonight or tomarrow.

It's been a while, alecvg. Are you able to post the pics now? We'd love to see 'em, so we can again try to figure out which species you saw.

WCTaxidermy · « **Reply #39 on:** June 16, 2009, 08:43:14 AM »

Tom, Those are great pictures and great set-up you have. Thanks for sharing them. I too would like to see the picture. Talk with you soon.

John

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