Gunnison Sage-grouse

I spent the weekend in Gunnison to photograph grouse. It was another challenging grouse trip - the third season in a row - but I finally managed to make a few images.

The light was so poor, I started at ISO 3200 and only graduated to 1600. The images were made with a 600mm + 1.4x tele.

The story is at http://www.westernwild.org

Thats totally cool, Dave! Nice subtle colors.
I sent you an email question btw.

Awesome!

Nicely done Dave. This will make a great addition to your ongoing project!

Beautifully done, Dave. That oof ground level view background really isolates the bird. Hopefully someday these birds will bounce back and be considered recovered from their endangered status.

Super Dave! Great Capture. They are on my list someday.

Very sweet shot Dave! I was hoping to go for these this year. Is the season for this already over? How about Prairie Chickens?

Thanks for the kind comments - I kind of like a few of the males fighting images better, but this is a good representation of their display. I made no images Saturday and had food poisoning to boot. Sunday was one of the toughest shooting days I can recall, so I'm happy to make a few decent images. Photo opps. were offered to three photographers this season and required a thorough application process and relative conservation project. Concerns over impact are very high and the working group that oversees the process takes lek visitation very seriously (justifiably). For anyone interested in grouse and lekking birds, I'd recommend Greater prairie chickens and sharptail in NE and trying the Delaney lek in North Park for Greater sage grouse. All lekking birds in this area display through April and generally peak around mid month, but it's variable. You can email me if you're unsure about protocol for lek photography or just want more information. Don Grall is a great resource too.

That is an impressive bird. His display is as cool as the Birds of Paradise I saw on PBS recently. And your shot makes him lood grand! Excellent work!

What a superb display, and you were there! Love the prominent tail feathers, subdued even light and the limited DOF placed just perfectly.
Most of all, I enjoyed your narrative. Thanks for posting a link to that one.

Thanks John and Morris. For anyone wondering just how endangered Gunnison sage grouse are: They are the 4th most endangered bird in North America with approximately 2,500 birds. Most are in the Gunnison Basin, with satellite leks in San Miguel County and nearby SE Utah. The satellite leks have not been reproducing the last couple of years and GuSG are still in steady decline. Why? Habitat loss, due to all sorts of fragmentation. The most heartbreaking story I've heard is about grouse strutting on the bridge over Blue Mesa Res., after their habitat was flooded.

Dave, when I was at an SCI camp for teachers at Granite Creek, WY about ten years ago, one of the field trips was to the sage north of Pinedale. WYGFD was doing habitat improvement. They said one ofthe problems was that the sage was too mature/big and thus they were burning sections for regrowth to improve the grouse habitat.
Is the sage age a similar problem around Gunnison?

Great question, Doug. Yes, there are places in the Gunnison Basin where reclamation work has been going on to restore healthy sagebrush. It's primarily Wyoming big sagebrush, just like aorund Pinedale. I was on a transect last May where discing, chemical treatments, and reseeding efforts were underway. Healthy sage is just one part - healthy grass in the sage is enormously important. While adults eat sage, their young eat bugs that thrive in healthy grass. No bugs = high mortality.

Great shot Dave! Nice color and I like the low angle.