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Laura's Greater Prairie-Chicken Lek page Prairie Chicken lek near Crookston, MN, May 6, 2005Wow. There may be a better word to express the incredible experience of being in the midst of 22 displaying prairie chickens, but I was too awestruck to think of one. At 4 am Friday, I arrived at the parking lot to get to an observation blind run by The Nature Conservancy at 4:35. I moseyed along the 1/2 mile stretch between my car and the little blind--the sky was perfectly clear--the Milky Way glowed--and there was no wind at all. Frogs were calling, and a Short-eared Owl called a few times as I walked along, following the blue reflectors that marked the way. These blinds are wonderful--comfortable chairs inside, and an excellent set of windows allowing high and low views. The chickens are obviously comfortable with people inside them--one flew up on the roof twice while I was inside. I could see him through the skylight, but was using my sound equipment at the time so couldn't get to my camera before he flew back down. The people in the other blind arrived over a half hour after we were supposed to be situated inside the blinds, flushing the birds at 5:35. The birds did return, but were flushed again at 7:10 when the people walked out of their blind while birds were still displaying. Fortunately, the birds returned at least one more time, and I stayed in the blind until a little after 8:30, getting better photos as the sun got higher in the sky. Something flew over--I just saw its shadow but think it was a harrier--and the birds all disappeared about 8:20. There were other birds about, too. Horned Larks, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Savannah Sparrows, and Western Meadowlarks sang nearby. And Tree Swallows flew overhead, dropping down to the grasses to pick up ...bugs? what? I looked carefully and suddenly realized they were picking up prairie chicken feathers to line their nests. As the chickens fought and preened, loose feathers were coming out and catching on the grasses. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to support The Nature Conservancy and to buy a Duck Stamp to support the habitat these birds need. The project protecting these birds is the Glacial Ridge Project, which has many partners:
When you're in prairie chicken country, please slow down and pay attention . I saw one dead chicken on Highway 32 on May 5. When I was in Nebraska in March, 2004, I saw three dead Greater Prairie-Chickens on roadsides. What a tragic waste. Video Files:
(There's another really nice compilation video on The Nature Conservancy's Glacial Ridge webpage. Sound Files:
Photo Files:
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