Near the end of March three years ago I spent several mornings watching displaying Greater Sage Grouse on two different leks in Wayne County, Utah. So the birds wouldn’t be disturbed by my presence I arrived in the dark and didn’t leave until the birds had left the lek several hours later. I was shooting from inside my pickup and in this high country that time of year it was damned cold. I couldn’t start my engine or run my heater and I had to keep my window down for photography so frostbite was a real danger. Hot coffee and hand warmers helped but I’ve seldom been that uncomfortable from cold in my entire life (and I’m from Montana!).
But it was worth every second of cold discomfort.
1/640, f/6.3, ISO 1600, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Much of the time I was shooting in near-darkness at very low shutter speeds and high ISO’s but some of the males stayed long enough to display shortly after sunrise so I was able to get good light, sharper shots and even catch lights in their eyes. The sun shining through my windows even warmed me up a little and boy did that feel good.
Here I caught a male just beginning his display in an open area on the frost-covered ground. I think this side view shows off that dramatic posture quite well.
1/1000, f/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
During part of the display their throat pouches are inflated and in my view they look pretty silly. To me everything about this plumage display and posture screams “male” except for those throat pouches. I’m still working on that one…
For the past several years there’s been too much snow in the high country for me to access the leks during display season. I’m hoping this year will be different.
Ron
Once again nature far exceeds any adornment conceived by humans. Thanks for persevering in the cold for these images. Methinks all the accoutrements on this bird serve to distract from a face only a mother could love.
Ha, good point, Lyle.
I’m with Kris — Mae West all the way! It’s the “feather boa” that does it for me. These are some super shots — thank you for braving the frigid temps for us.
Marty, I was lucky that trip. I got so many nice shots of the grouse that many of them will never see the light of day.
Fantastic!!
Thanks, Joanne.
Beautiful series, Ron, as was yesterday’s Chukar! I’ve done the same lek stakeout for the Greater Prairie-Chicken- freezing cold, but so worth it! Thanks again for a beautiful start to the day.
Thank you, Diane.
Great shots! A lot comes up for me when I view them: what you go through to get shots like these, how endangered they are because of lek and habitatat destruction, what an important part of our past they are, and the stunning awareness that Dolly Parton is actually a MALE SAGE GROUSE!!!
Thanks, Patty. Yes, their habitat is being eaten up daily and they’re such a big part of our western heritage. It’s a sad situation.
Wonderful shots! About those inflated throat pouches: Note that when a female is interested in a male she examines the bare skin of those inflated sacs. If she sees any red spots, she usually abandons him and seeks out another male. Red spots are an indication that he has lice. It’s her way of assessing his health and she wants the fittest male she can find. All the strutting and erected feathers may initially get her attention, but it is the condition of his skin on those pouches that helps her make her final choice.
Very interesting, Dan. I didn’t know that about her inspecting the condition of the pouches.
SPECTACULAR RON!!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
How to put this delicately…perhaps the cold made the male grouse…ummm…high and tight? 😉
🙂
Just beautiful ! Until seeing your shots this morning, I’d never noticed the elaborate HEAD feathers……are they that long permanently and just lying against the neck when
the display isn’t being made ? It’s not easy to see the subtleties of the display when that “full frontal” is out there ! I can imagine how distracting that is for the male of the
human species ( I think of Mae West, and NOT the life jacket ) !
Kris, I suspect that those feathers are only that long when they’re in breeding plumage. For me Dolly Parton comes to mind…
Beautiful! I don’t get the pouches either…:) I’m not into “freezing” for anyone/thing unless I have no choice! 😉 How does the camera equipment(batteries) hold up with the cold? We were snowed in yesterday and NOT fun with igloo material for drifts to get out! 🙁 At least it was warm (30’s) with no wind…… Blew again last night so who knows Shouldn’t whine with other areas being so much worse!
Judy, the biggest problem I have in temps like that is fogging up my viewfinder. If I breathe on it the tiniest amount it fogs up so I can’t see through it and in those temps it takes a long time for it to clear up. Missed a lot of nice shots that way. Didn’t have any problem with batteries but I had extras just in case.
Ron: First of all, beautiful images. Secondly, sometime being anthropomorphic works, other times it does not. Thank you again for your blog!
Thank you, Richard.