BirdNote; Call of the Sage-Grouse

BirdNote®

Call of the Sage-Grouse

Written by Ashley Ahearn

Ashley Ahearn: This is BirdNote.

Today, we’re at a Greater Sage-Grouse lek, or mating site, in the Red Desert of Wyoming. Erik Molvar is our guide. He's the executive director of Western Watersheds Project.

Erik Molvar: It’s 5:30 in the morning and already the sage-grouse are taking positions on the lek. Anybody who’s ever been to a singles bar will recognize this scene. The males are puffing out their chests, strutting around, trying to catch the female’s eye, and this is what their pickup line sounds like.

[Gorgeous burbling calls in the clear]

And when they inflate their chest sacks, bright yellow sacks of skin can be seen. Looks like eggs frying in a skillet. The females, by contrast, are brown camouflage. They have their pick of the most attractive mates so they don’t have to show off.

[flap of wings]

Now there’s a male making a rush at a lesser competitor.

[flap of wings]

[Weird low clucking]

These two are threatening again. They do come to blows over these little 10x10 patches of territory on the dance floor.

You can hear the coyotes calling to each other. They don’t bother the sage-grouse.

[Coyotes]

[Burbling calls of sage-grouse]

Ashley Ahearn: You can hear more about the Greater Sage-Grouse and the challenges they face on our new series Grouse. Subscribe to BirdNote Presents in your podcast app, or go to BirdNote.org.

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All sounds recorded by Ashley Ahearn

Producer: John Kessler

Production Manager: Allison Wilson

Editor: Ashley Ahearn

Producer: Mark Bramhill

Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone

BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

© 2020 BirdNote October 2020 Narrator: Ashley Ahearn

ID# GRSG-09-2020-10-20 GRSG-09