Species Profile: Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse
The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is one of seven subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse in North America. Among these subspecies, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse are the smallest. Characteristics of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse are brownish-gray with many small buff and black markings, a white belly, and a long, mostly white, wedge-shaped tail. Columbian sharp-tailed grouse depend on good habitats within sagebrush-bunchgrass, meadow-steppe, and mountain shrub. The availability of suitable habitat with deciduous trees and sage shrubs are a key element to healthy Columbian sharp-tailed grouse...
Read MorePhotographing Plains Sharp-tailed Grouse
April 14 – April 16 It was my first trip to Mullin, Nebraska. I was welcomed by 40 mph winds and blowing snow. I spent the night in a motel room listening to the wind howl. By the following morning, over 20 inches of snow had drifted in front of my motel room. Mitch Glidden, the Sandhill motel owner and the grouse tour organizer, took me out to see Sharp-tailed Grouse. This was the first time for me to use a commercial blind to photograph grouse. Mitch set a school bus as a viewing platform, from which I could see 7 male sharp-tailed grouse arrive almost exactly when Mitch told me...
Read MoreDance of Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse on snow
April 9 – April 13 I came to Baggs, Wyoming to photograph the rare Columbian sharp-tailed grouse. The birds live high on the mountain where it is covered by snow most of the year. I met up with Tony Mong, a Wyoming Game & Fish wildlife biologist, who helped me locate the lek. The road to the lek was still partially closed due to heavy snow. The plan was to set up a photo blind and come back the next morning. However, just after a quarter of the way to the lek, we had to turn around because it started snowing so heavily we couldn’t see anything in front of us. Tony...
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