Grouse put on a show for spring

I just wrapped up a nine-day northern-grouse tour. On this trip, I put more than 2,000 miles on my truck in hopes of finding and photographing the four grouse species found in the Upper Midwest: the greater prairie chicken, the sharp-tailed grouse, the spruce grouse and the ruffed grouse.

Grouse are in the order Galliformes and the family Phasianidae. They are commonly referred to as “chicken-like birds” because they appear very similar to chickens. This group of birds is found in the Northern Hemisphere and inhabits temperate and subarctic regions. Interestingly, the turkey is closely allied with grouse but has been excluded and placed in its own family.

Early spring (April and the beginning of May) is when all four of these species engage in interesting mating rituals, which usually involve the male performing an elaborate display to attract females and prove that he is physically fit and would produce good offspring.

The greater prairie chicken males gather each spring on a traditional performance ground called a lek. The lekking behavior takes place in an area – usually on open ground and typically no more than 100 feet across – that is used every spring. Here, the males gather and display (or “dance”) as a group to attract females. For greater prairie chickens, the lek is sometimes called a “booming ground” because the males produce a low-frequency sound that some say resembles booming. I don’t hear it as a boom, but I understand the sentiment.

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Individual males square off with each other. Both crouch down and make clucking sounds. Then one will lunge at the other, and a small fight or battle breaks out, usually involving pecking and biting. Females walk onto the lekking ground to watch the males’ displays. When this happens, the males often stop fighting and concentrate on displaying. Females are often chased around the lek by eager males, which never amounts to any mating activity.

When male greater prairie chickens display, they lean forward, drooping their wings along their sides until they nearly touch the ground. They have prominent long feathers along their necks, called pinnae feathers. They raise these feathers to reveal an air sac, called the gular sac, which is reddish to orange in color. The males inflate the air sac, causing it to bulge outward. They also have large yellow eye combs, which become enlarged during displays.

In order to capture images of these birds, we had to arrive in the dark and set up a very small one-person chair blind. Next, we would position our tripod and camera gear, which included a very large, long lens.

The objective was to be far enough away so the birds would behave naturally, but close enough to capture high-quality images. We would wait in the dark for the light to come up, and the male grouse would enter the dancing arena one by one. Often, they would run into the lek, while others flew in.

The moment the birds arrived, they began to display, dance and give their characteristic calls. The dancing and displaying would go on for two to three hours. Slowly, the individual males would walk off the lek and into the tall grass surrounding it. Eventually, all the males would leave, allowing me to exit the blind.

What an amazing experience to see, hear and document. Until next time …

Editor’s note: Stan Tekiela’s NatureSmart column appears twice a month in the Eden Prairie Local News. Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively across the United States to study and capture wildlife images. 

You can follow his work on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.