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Author Topic: Prairie Chicken?  (Read 14488 times)

Offline Tom Reichner

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« 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.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2009, 09:20:58 PM by Tom Reichner »
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Offline boneaddict

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« 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

Offline RPM

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« Reply #32 on: May 11, 2009, 11:24:08 PM »
awsome

Offline popeshawnpaul

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« Reply #33 on: May 12, 2009, 12:16:28 AM »
Great pictures Tom.  That's hardcore shooting.

Offline bowhunterforever

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« Reply #34 on: May 12, 2009, 12:38:14 AM »
Great pictures Tom.  That's hardcore shooting.
  :yeah:
You sure you know how to skin griz pilgram

Offline T-Bone

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« Reply #35 on: May 12, 2009, 06:57:55 AM »
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
" America will never be destroyed from outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

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Offline teal101

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« 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.

Offline Hillbilly270

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« 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. :P
Im a lead farmer mutha....

Offline Tom Reichner

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« Reply #38 on: June 15, 2009, 03:15:39 PM »
I will try to post the pics tonight.

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. 
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Offline WCTaxidermy

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Re: Prairie Chicken?
« 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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