So You Think You Can Dance

The other week it was time for our Naturalist Society’s annual field trip to Camp Wainwright, Alberta, to view the Sharp-tailed Grouse dance.

It was my sixth time waking up before sunrise to watch the birds on their lek. Until this year, I had been using point and shoot cameras to photograph the grouse, but this year I was eager to use my new DSLR! Luckily the morning was nice and sunny, through we had to leave just as the light was getting really good. All the photographs I took were with the Nikkor 200-500mm lens. I so enjoyed taking photos with my D610 and I can’t wait to use it more throughout the spring and summer.

The grouse seemed to be very active behind the blinds, and I was hoping to photograph the males sparring, but I guess they weren’t in much of a fighting mood that morning. Our group counted eight displaying males this year, and two females.

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/250, ISO 6400, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/250, ISO 5000, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/250, ISO 3200, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/250, ISO 3200, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/320, ISO 3200, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/320, ISO 3200, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

A female looking at the males,

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 2000, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 2000, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 2000, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 2000, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/500, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/800, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 1600, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light

The Sharp-tailed Grouse tours are hosted every year by the Wainwright Wildlife Society. This year they’re holding the tours until May 7th, so if you’re interested in watching this amazing spectacle, bookings are still available. Contact ljhoover AT hotmail DOT com or phone 780-842-2399 to register. The cost for the tour is $10 for students and $15 for adults.

You can find the Wainwright Wildlife Society’s website here and you can “Like” them on their Facebook page here.

Sharp-tailed Grouse in Wainwright

Last Thursday, birding started bright and early at 3:45 in the morning — it was the annual field trip to Camp Wainwright to see the Sharp-tailed Grouse dance. This was the fifth year I’ve watched the Sharp-tailed Grouse on their lek at the base. Even though the morning starts very early, it’s one of my favourite birding events.

You can find the Wainwright Wildlife Society’s website here and you can “Like” them on their Facebook page here.

Our group counted nine displaying males this year, and one female — down from last year’s count of 15 males and no females.

Here’s my blog post from last year.

The view from inside the blind,

A lone female grouse came to the lek. The females can be distinguished from the males by their lack of both the yellow eye-combs and the purple air sack on the neck,

Two grouse landed on one of the blinds and even danced there,

It was difficult to photograph the birds as they moved between sunny and shady spots very quickly,

I’m pretty happy with my photos this year between the better weather and knowing my camera a little more.

Dancing with Sharp-tailed Grouse!

Each year our local naturalist society makes the one-hour drive to the Canadian Forces Base at Wainwright, Alberta, to see the annual Sharp-tailed Grouse dance at their lek. The field trip is arranged by the Wainwright Naturalist Society, whose members also maintain the several blinds where we sit and observe. This part of the province has the highest counts and density of breeding Sharp-tailed Grouse.

Thursday morning at 3 am I was awake and ready to head out to watch male Sharp-tailed Grouse strut their stuff at the lek (mating ground) on the Camp Wainwright base, along with Lakeland College students in the Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation program. We left Vermilion at 4 am because there’s a security briefing at the base, about not touching anything, including exploded and unexploded mines.

Once the briefing was over, we drove to the part of the base, all native prairie, where they practice with mines and explosives and then walked about a quarter of a kilometer to the blinds. The birds start dancing at sunrise, which is why the field trip starts so early. This year we actually arrived before the grouse did, so it was good that we didn’t disturb them as we got ourselves situated in the blinds. There are very few places left with any Sharp-tailed Grouse at all, let alone breeding pairs.

Our group counted 15 displaying males this year, up from last year’s six grouse. The grouse weren’t as active as in previous years — not dancing as much and spending more time just huddled up, which was probably attributable to the wind, cold temperature (-8 c), and snow falling. But otherwise it was a great morning!

After we finished watching the birds at around 7 am, we drove back to the base for breakfast in the mess hall, where they prepare anything you might want, from pancakes, waffles, and sausages, to eggs and fruit.

This is the fourth year I’ve watched the Sharp-tailed Grouse dance, and the day is always one of the highlights of our naturalist society activities and of my birding year.

Some of the males got fairly close to our blind which provided me with a good opportunity to practice with my new camera,

Here’s a short video I made,

One of the other blinds and a couple of pairs of males. How many can you count?

I wasn’t able to get very good photos of the birds dancing, but in this photo you can see the bright purple air-sac,

Feathers on Saturday and Grouse Dance Cancellation

I would have posted on Friday but our internet was very slow!

Unfortunately the grouse dance I was planning to go to yesterday was canceled. The president of our local naturalist society went on the first trip last week and said there were only six birds when there are usually two to three dozen. He decided that it would be best to cancel any further trips to avoid disturbing the birds. Now we are wondering if the mild winter had something to with the decline in the grouse population numbers.

On Thursday on our way home from music lessons, I spotted a pair of Turkey Vultures at an old abandoned building. Turkey Vultures make their nests in old buildings, so I’m going to keep an eye on this pair,

Feathers on Friday and Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek Update

As I posted on Thursday, today I was supposed to be at a Sharp-tailed Grouse lek in Wainwright, Alberta, for their spring dance. My plans got changed slightly, since the weather was cold and rainy and there were too many people signed up. Our naturalist society decided to add another group next Friday for the overflow, and I put my name in since my schedule is flexible. I’m hoping that the weather will be better, and it’s good to see that there are so many others interested in watching the Grouse!

Now for Feathers on Friday.

A male and female Northern Shoveler I saw yesterday afternoon,

Sharp-tailed Grouse Dance

Each year our local naturalist society makes the hour-long drive to the Canadian Forces Base at Wainwright, Alberta to see the annual Sharp-tailed Grouse dance at their lek. The field trip is arranged by the Wainwright Naturalist Society, and they also maintain the several blinds where we sit and observe. This part of the province has the highest counts and density of breeding Sharp-tailed Grouse.

I’m signed up and will be leaving for the base at 4 am Friday morning if the weather permits. If so, it’ll be the fourth consecutive year I’ve watch the Sharp-tailed Grouse dance. After we watch the birds as the sun rises, we drive back to the base where we have an amazing pancake breakfast in the mess hall. The day is one of the highlights of our naturalist society activities and of my birding year.

I will have a full post on my trip to see the grouse about a day or so later, because when I get home around 10 am I’m always pretty tired!

Here is a photo of a Sharp-tailed Grouse I took last year. I hope to take better photos this year with a better camera,