Comment about displaying chickens

[Ted Floyd]

Hello, Birders.

Peter Gent says:

> Holly,
>
> The Grouse leks north of Hayden are described in 13 for Routt:
>

> http://coloradocountybirding.com/county/bird_a_county.php?name=Routt
>
> Unfortunately, it is now very late for them to be still displaying.

Unquestionably, that is the "conventional wisdom." But I've come to question it.

A few examples from last year:

May 15th, 2011. Eleven male Sharp-tailed Grouse were giving a fantastic dancing-and-foot-shuffling, prancing-and-capering, whooshing-and-whirring, stamping-and-popping display at the site mentioned by Peter. The Greater Sage-Grouse (n=3) were a bit more subdued but nonetheless present and (sorta) displaying. And a few miles south, two Dusky Grouse were hooting.

May 29, 2011. At the Fox Ranch, 3 male Greater Prairie-Chickens were booming, plainly audible from County Road U. A bit distant, but a nice view in a scope.

No question about it: We in Colorado have this mindset that the best way to see displaying grouse is on bitter cold mornings at dawn in March when it's minus 2, windy, and totally miserable. Why do that?? Those prairie-chickens were booming at high noon, with Cassin's Sparrows and Lark Buntings all around. Lovely!

Ted Floyd
tedfl...@hotmail.com
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado

[Jeremy Winick]

I am no expert, but I would surely remember that last year was
incredibly snowy and there was even more snow in probably the end of
June than there is now or has been for weeks. Would that affect things
to be later last year?

Jeremy Winick
Westminster, CO

�What is wanted is not the will to believe,
but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite�
... Bertrand Russell

[gwwa...@gmail.com]

Hi all,

I would say that most years the small "chickens" display well in to May. I've seen both prairie-chickens and sharp-tails in to the third week of May on multiple years. The bigger grouse are more erratic that late, I think, so if Sage-Grouse are your targets I would go no later than early-mid May.

Andrew Spencer
Centennial, CO
Enviado desde mi BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeremy Winick <wini...@gmail.com>
Sender: cob...@googlegroups.com
Date: Wed, 09 May 2012 10:59:16
To: <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: wini...@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Comment about displaying chickens

I am no expert, but I would surely remember that last year was
incredibly snowy and there was even more snow in probably the end of
June than there is now or has been for weeks. Would that affect things
to be later last year?

Jeremy Winick
Westminster, CO

“What is wanted is not the will to believe,
but the wish to find out, which is its exact opposite”

... Bertrand Russell


On 05/09/2012 10:53 AM, Ted Floyd wrote:
> Hello, Birders.
>
> Peter Gent says:
>
>> Holly,
>>
>> The Grouse leks north of Hayden are described in 13 for Routt:
>>
>> http://coloradocountybirding.com/county/bird_a_county.php?name=Routt
>>
>> Unfortunately, it is now very late for them to be still displaying.
> Unquestionably, that is the "conventional wisdom." But I've come to question it.
>
> A few examples from last year:
>
> May 15th, 2011. Eleven male Sharp-tailed Grouse were giving a fantastic dancing-and-foot-shuffling, prancing-and-capering, whooshing-and-whirring, stamping-and-popping display at the site mentioned by Peter. The Greater Sage-Grouse (n=3) were a bit more subdued but nonetheless present and (sorta) displaying. And a few miles south, two Dusky Grouse were hooting.
>
> May 29, 2011. At the Fox Ranch, 3 male Greater Prairie-Chickens were booming, plainly audible from County Road U. A bit distant, but a nice view in a scope.
>
> No question about it: We in Colorado have this mindset that the best way to see displaying grouse is on bitter cold mornings at dawn in March when it's minus 2, windy, and totally miserable. Why do that?? Those prairie-chickens were booming at high noon, with Cassin's Sparrows and Lark Buntings all around. Lovely!
>
> Ted Floyd
> tedfl...@hotmail.com
> Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado
>

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[Dave Cameron]

We had 6 male Lesser Prairie-chickens displaying for over two hours, one week ago, on the Selman Ranch in Oklahoma.  The previous morning we heard there were 15 on the lek. 

 

Dave Cameron

Denver