Hendee: Grouse give the greatest show on the prairie

With deepest apologies to Abba:

If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down

If you're all alone when the big birds have flown

Prairie grouse in romance

Take a chance on their dance

They're gonna do their very best and it ain't no lie

If you take a drive, if you let them try.

In other words, sandhills cranes aren't the only show in town. In post-crane springtime Nebraska, bird-watchers and nature enthusiasts have another target for their spotting scopes and binoculars — prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse.

Most of the world's sandhill cranes remain in central Nebraska this weekend, spending a few weeks resting and storing up energy for the last legs of their long migration to near-Arctic breeding grounds. By the middle of April, when the cranes have typically cleared out, prairie chickens and sharptails are in full swing.

The prairie chicken and its mating dance have been a part of the Nebraska prairie for years and is an increasingly popular sightseeing event.

“It's spectacular show,'' said Scott Bodie of Big Blue Ranch & Lodge near Burchard. “Any Nebraskan who hasn't seen the prairie chicken and its antics in the mating ritual is really missing something.''

Prairie chickens and sharptails are two uncommon non-migratory game birds.

Every spring, male prairie chickens perform a courtship display characterized by stomping feet, towering leaps and resonant booming noises from inflated yellow-orange air sacs along the sides of their necks.

Sharptails also are frenetic performers. They whirl, stamp, run and pose, often rapidly buzzing their erect tail feathers. Both species sometimes leap into the air to strike with feet, but seldom cause any real injury.

“When the weather is right and the wind still, you can hear those prairie chickens more than two miles away,'' Bodie said.

The courtship behavior, performed on an ancient prairie grassland site known as a “lek,” can begin by early March and continue well into May. The dancing starts just before first light and continues for two to three hours. Birds sometimes repeat the performance at sunset.

“The birds are going good right now,'' said Patty Glidden, who with husband Mitch operates a prairie chicken and sharptail viewing business called Grassland Dance in Mullen.

Patty Glidden said they host more non-Nebraskans than Nebraskans in their viewing blinds. Jane Goodall, noted British primatologist, was a visitor. A sold-out “Chicken and Stars'' tour from the Nebraska Nature and Visitor Center near Alda will drop in Saturday morning.

The number of birds on a lek varies, ranging from 12 to 28 at many sites. Booming grounds usually have very short to no vegetation. Male prairie chickens strut their stuff for almost two months.

Sue Ann Switzer said lek activity peaks as more hens arrive on the grounds.

“It's pretty exciting out there,'' she said.

Switzer and her husband, Bruce, and their family operate Calamus Outfitters near Burwell.

There are public options for viewing prairie chickens and sharptails, too, but blinds may be non-existent or Spartan.

Free viewing blinds are available at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge south of Valentine and at the Nebraska National Forest's Bessey Ranger District near Halsey. Use of the blinds are on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Nebraska Birding Trails Web site lists several other places across the state with roadside- and blind-viewing opportunities.

“Both grouse species put on a good show that is well worth getting up early in the morning to see,'' said Mark Lindvall, the Valentine refuge manager. “Their displays are a must-see for any prairie enthusiast.''

Contact the writer:

444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com

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