![\"sage](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/sage-grouse-3531-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/800, f\/6.3, ISO 2000, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon<\/em> EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited,\u00a0 set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\nThey include the following:<\/p>\n
- \n
- at least one strutting male in a\u00a0full performance pose<\/li>\n
- one or more females looking on. Here\u00a0a female, out of focus in the background, is inspecting her prospective mating partner who is her (and our) center of attention<\/li>\n
- visual indicators of time of day. Sage Grouse always perform on the lek in early mornings and here the golden light of the rising sun is just beginning to envelope the male<\/li>\n
- it’s usually cold when they perform and we can see frost on the ground<\/li>\n
- sagebrush, the namesake of the bird and the critical habitat element of the species, is clearly visible in the setting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The image was taken in the early morning\u00a0of March 25, 2015 as I sat on a lek in remote Wayne County, Utah and froze my butt off\u00a0while I watched and photographed the spectacular performances of these grouse for almost an hour and a half. For me the experience and\u00a0what I perceive as “classic”\u00a0images like this one\u00a0make it all worth it.<\/p>\n
In spades.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For many viewers certain visual elements come to mind when they think of Sage Grouse on a lek. For me this image has most, if not all of them.<\/p>\n