Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival
This Thursday and Friday (April 27-28), I will be hosting a photography workshop and a presentation at the Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Woodward, Oklahoma. The photography workshop will be held in the beautiful setting of Selman Ranch. That area is known for lesser prairie-chickens and a large number of migratory shorebirds during spring. You can read this post for more information about the...
Read MoreHybrid Prairie-Chicken
Hybridization of greater and lesser prairie-chicken is uncommon but well established in the western part of Kansas where their ranges overlap. A hybrid bird was first documented in April 2001 by a wildlife biologist who first noticed the differences in booming sounds on a mixed lek. Hybrid prairie-chickens have intermediate characteristics of both species in appearance and booming display behaviors. The greater have darker coloration than the lesser, and the hybrids are in-between. Hybrids also have intermediate vocalizations of both greater and lesser prairie-chickens, combining booming...
Read MoreFence collision deadly for Lesser Prairie Chickens
Lesser prairie chickens, like many ground-dwelling birds, have a short life expectancy with around 60% mortality. After years of studies, the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center in Oklahoma reports that barbed-wire fences account for over 40% of the lesser prairie chicken mortality rate. Several conservation groups and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service have been working with landowners to remove unnecessary fences and to make fences more visible for low flying birds like lesser prairie chickens. Simple things like putting a sign on the fence could make a huge difference in the lives...
Read MoreIs wind energy environmentally friendly? Maybe, maybe not …
Hundreds of wind turbines have been built in the Oklahoma panhandle area to help meet the nation’s growing demand for renewable energy. Many people believe that wind turbines are environmentally friendly because there is no burning of fossil fuels or nuclear waste as a result. However, wind turbines have an enormous impact on the environment. Although few scientific studies have been done to determine the true effects, simple observation shows a major impact on migratory and ground nesting birds, such as Lesser Prairie Chickens. Areas where only months before had been prime country...
Read MoreIn the rough terrace of the Western Oklahoma live Lesser Prairie Chicken
March 28 – April 1 My trip started in Oklahoma to photograph Lesser Prairie Chicken. Over the years of photographing the birds, I’ve come to appreciate the rough terrain of the open country in the western Oklahoma panhandle where Lesser Prairie Chickens live. Sue, who has become a good friend over the years, has a large flock of Lesser Prairie Chickens at her ranch. That’s where I spent the next 5 days photographing Lesser Prairie Chickens – I hope to introduce more in my book about her passion and her efforts to save these birds. Three years ago I ripped my (expensive)...
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