Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Sage grouse show off for the girls

During a recent snow storm, the male Sage grouse continued to display for the girls.  It is always an exciting activity to watch.  The males arrive about an hour before daylight.


The hens follow later.


But when the females come, the males get a little excited and start fighting and......


then they start showing off, trying to attract the females. 



Dancing and puffing out their chests while the female ignore most of them takes a lot of energy.


Tired of showing off, the males wait for the sun to come up


As the sun warms them, the hens leave, but the males remain a while longer in case a hot female shows up late.


With the females all gone for the day, the males fly off to feed and rest until the next morning arrives with new opportunities for a girlfriend. 


A great way to celebrate the wildness of Idaho.

6 comments:

theconstantwalker said...

Wonderful birds to see..

Lois Evensen said...

Fascinating and beautiful. :)

Gaelyn said...

I really like to hear them drumming. Does seem like a lot of work to get a gal. Great shots of catching them courting.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

You once again have made it to where I would love to see this sometime, really neat. The image in the sunlight is so dramatic and wonderful Bill. Good to hear from you~

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

Thank you! this is such an awe-inspiring sight. We went to a birding festival in Burns OR years ago and were taken on a tour to see the sage grouse displaying -- it was wonderful and so worth it, but I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to see it on your own. A wonder indeed!

Janie said...

Amazing photos of this ritual. It's certainly unique.