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Quad 30 Bird of the Day
Thursday, June 10th
Oklee, Minnesota
Greater Prairie-Chicken
I wasn't really thinking of this species when I started the route as it was not on the cumulative species list. But I thought I heard one booming quite far off at one early stop and then at the next half mile stop, I could hear them more clearly. I drove back a dead-end road but could get no closer and couldn't see them. Also heard booming a few miles down the road. It is such a terrific sound that carries for long distances in the open landscape. I urge everyone to sit in a blind some time in their lives and experience chickens booming.
Wisconsin's chicken expert, John Toepfer, does a lot of work in MN, and I'll have to contact him when I get back for details about these locations. As a sidenote, John will be the featured speaker at the November meeting of the Riveredge Bird Club. John is a real expert on chickens and is also provocative. For the past couple of years, the WDNR has been working on revising its management plan for the species. It has been a long and difficult path that I've participated in along with John and others from the Society of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus and several staff from the WDNR, along with other organizations. The chicken is at a real crossroads in WI, and some drastic action must occur if we are to maintain this magnificent bird as part of our avifauna.
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