Sharp-tailed Grouse Archives - Birds on the Wing

Pawnee National Grassland is 193,000 acres mostly comprised of native shortgrass prairie in north central Colorado. Pawnee is a well known birding location because it is one of the best places in the world to see three localized and declining prairie species: Mountain Plover, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Thick-billed Longspur as well as other common prairie species. It is also the best place in the state to find Sharp-tailed Grouse. Our goal for the day was to find all four of these species.

April is my favorite time to bird in Pawnee National Grassland. The combination of minimal biting insects, pleasant spring temperatures, and displaying Sharp-tailed Grouse make for incredible birding!

Our first target bird of the day was Sharp-tailed Grouse. The very northern part of Pawnee is the most reliable place in the state to find these birds. They had been lekking in the area but the only birds we saw were perched in a dead tree.

One of my favorite hawks of the prairie, the Ferruginous Hawk. The largest hawk in Genus Buteo, these powerful predators feed mainly on medium sized mammals. I often see them around Prairie Dog towns.

The most common bird on the grassland *in early sprin*g is undoubtedly the Horned Lark. These small birds can be found in almost any open habitat in the state.

While the Horned Lark may be the most common sight on the prairie the song of the Western Meadowlark is a sound synonymous with any open habitat in the western United States.

Although this robin sized songbird may look harmless, the Loggerhead Shrike is a ferocious predator. Although in summer their diet consists mostly of large insects, in winter they will eat rodents and small birds. They are famous for skewering uneaten prey on thorns or barbed wire fences to eat later.

Mountain Plover Pawnee National Grassland — One of the strangest sights on the dry shortgrass prairie is the profile of a distant shorebird. The Mountain Plover is a unique shorebird spending almost none of its life along the shores of oceans and lakes. They spend summer on the short grass prairie of the western great plains.

Thick-billed Longspur Pawnee National Grassland — Another local prairie breeding species is the Thick-billed Longspur. They breed in native shortgrass prairie from Montana to northern Colorado. Over the last 50 years these birds have declined by almost 90%. Pawnee National Grassland is the best place in the state to find these birds during the summer months.

Chestnut-collared Longspur Pawnee National Grassland — The last of our four target birds, the Chestnut-collared Longspur. They are found in native shortgrass prairie. Since 1980 these longspurs have declined by more than 80%.

While driving from Denver to Story, Wyoming, which takes about 6.5 hours, we spotted many raptors. The highlights were 14 Bald Eagles and 1 Golden Eagle, all between Casper and Story! Story is just outside of Sheridan, which is in North Central Wyoming. This area is bordered on the west by the Bighorn Mountains with rolling plains to the east.

I was excited about the possibility of 3 lifers on this trip: Bohemian Waxwing, Gray Partridge and Snow Bunting. These birds had all been reported on eBird within the last month so there was a good possibility of seeing all of them.

November 28^th, Lake De Smet, WY. Target bird: Gray Partridge

Thanksgiving Day. Partly sunny, 10°-25°. We headed out early and arrived just after sunrise. Lake De Smet is one of the largest bodies of water in Northern Wyoming surrounded by rolling hills and agricultural fields. Our first stop was the campground. The willow bushes around the camp sites draw in many wintering game birds including Sharp-tailed Grouse and Gray Partridge. We easily found flocks of both birds and enjoyed close views from the warmth of the car!

On our drive out we passed through excellent raptor habitat.

Not a raptor, but always cool to see a Common Raven.

November 29^th, Story, WY.

Feeder watching at my grandparents’ property. I enjoyed many common feeder birds in the pristine Ponderosa Pine forest in Story.

Bird Feeders — Very active bird feeders.

Mountain Chickadee, very similar to Black-capped Chickadee.

Bighorn Mountains — Fog moving down the valley into Story.

November 30^th, Bighorn, WY. Target bird: Bohemian Waxwing.

We only had 45 minutes to search for the flock of Waxwings which had been reported to eBird the day before. Birding on a tight schedule is always challenging and today was no exception! We birded along the Brinton Museum entrance road looking for Waxwings in the tall Cottonwood trees. None were present. However, there was a nice flock of Pine Grosbeak foraging near the road. As our time ran out we headed towards Sheridan along Little Goose Creek. As I leaned out of the car to look at a hawk I saw and heard a large flock of Waxwings flying overhead. I was fairly confident they were Bohemians, but not 100% sure. We’d have to continue our search another day…

Not a Waxwing, but a female Pine Grosbeak.

December 1^st, Bighorn, WY. Target bird: Bohemian Waxwing.

On our drive to the Brinton Museum we spotted a flock of Sharp-tailed Grouse. They were completely unconcerned with us and continued feeding as we watched from just feet away.

After viewing the Sharp-tails we headed towards the Brinton Museum. Driving along Little Goose Creek we finally found the Waxwings. There was a flock of Bohemian Waxwings numbering over 100 birds. Mixed in were a few Cedar Waxwings and Robins. The birds were feasting on berries. While watching the Waxwings my dad spotted a Harris’s Sparrow, which is a rare bird in Wyoming. Nice job, dad!