Sharp-tailed grouse move to river bottoms due to lengthy winter

“Bill, I have four grouse under my willow tree,” a friend phoned me on Tuesday afternoon. “Come over and get some pictures if you would like to.”

I hustled over and the flock had grown to six birds by the time I got there. The sharp-tailed grouse had found a place where cover and food were available near my friend’s home and I watched them as they picked at weed seeds, green spires of grass and even buds from bushes.

These birds are near the South Fork of the Teton River, west of Rexburg, miles from where they have ever been seen before. I have lived near them for over 40 years and have never seen them there. The closest I have seen them have been near the Sand Dunes north of St. Anthony and in the Moody Creek area on the Rexburg Bench.

This movement from their traditional areas has probably been caused by the harsh winter weather that has covered the grouse’s food and cover. With daily snow falling and lack of melting, has made it difficult for them to make a living where they normally gather in their lekking areas.

A sharpie poses for a picture on a snowbank as it surveys its surroundings. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

Like their cousins, the sage grouse, each spring the males gather in areas to dance, display, fight and woo females to the lek, a traditional breeding ground. They usually start gathering in late March or early April, but with the snow covering most of the leks, it will be interesting to see where these gatherings happen.

The show that males put on is one of the most interesting things I have witnessed in nature. They have brilliant yellow eyebrows with purple air sacks on each side of their necks. As they begin their “dance,” they will spread their wings, stomping their feet and raise their tail while rubbing two center feathers together creating a rasping sound.

This display is designed to attract females, and also attract potential adversarial suitors for the dancer. They will engage in a faceoff while clucking at each other. Most of the time the faceoff is just an argument, but occasionally it will end in a vicious battle with beaks grabbing the air sacks, wings beating each other on the heads and claws raking the opponent. In the past several of those battles ended up with the contestants on the hood of my truck.

This sharpie is eating emerging buds on a bush near a home. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com

It will be interesting to watch these birds to see if they migrate back to their normal spring area or if they stay where they are and attempt to nest near the river. The extended winter weather has created a lot of changes in the animal world and it will be interesting to see how the deep snow affects their habits.

Over 50 sandhill cranes have showed up on the Deer Parks Wildlife Management Area along with geese, ducks and more trumpeter swans. The Market Lake Wildlife Management Area will remain closed until the numbers of big game animals migrate from the area. The area between Idaho Highway 33 and the Egin/Hamer Road is scheduled to open up on Saturday, and I tried to find out if the closure would remain in effect due to the snow conditions but could not find out. I was told to “obey the signs at each entry point” for directions on what to do.

The snow is still deep out there and the big game animals have had a very tough winter and we need to give them space to move at their own pace and needs. We do not want to cause a major winter kill after they have survived this far. Please give them space.

A Sharp-tailed grouse eating weed seeds along a driveway. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com Two of six Sharp-tailed grouse near a home in Hibbard, just west of Rexburg. | Bill Schiess, EastIdahoNews.com