Greater sage grouse occupied more than 460,000 square miles across 13 Western states, including Montana, and three Canadian provinces before European settlement in the 1800s. But since that time, sagebrush ecosystems have been destroyed, fragmented, and degraded. Now there are so few pristine and intact sagebrush ecosystems their population has been in a continuous and […]
Tag: Sage-grouse
House GOP Accused of ‘Waging War on America’s Wildlife’ With Proposed Spending Cuts
As Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives begin work on spending legislation for fiscal year 2026, conservationists and congressional Democrats are blasting a key appropriations bill released Monday. “House Republicans are once again waging war on America’s wildlife in yet another giveaway to their industry allies,” said Stephanie Kurose, deputy director of government affairs […]
Trump officials are trying to yank this animal’s last shot at survival
The bird above is not your typical charismatic species. It’s no bald eagle, no peregrine falcon. It’s a groundbird known as the lesser prairie-chicken that lives in the southern Great Plains. It’s not even the greater prairie-chicken, another, related avian species, that’s a bit larger. Today, however, this bird is very much worth paying attention […]
End of the Season Blues
Birds? I still like ’em, I still take pictures of them. I am now back in civilization, society. There are 2 positive things about this: The internet, and my cats have a house to run around in again, not a wee trailer. I’m already feeling clausterphobic after less than 24 hours though. Oh boy, not […]
Sage Grouse Strut
Finally had a chance to see a greater-sage grouse lek (and a sharp-tailed lek, too!) last week. It’s nearing the end of lekking season, but there were still about 45 males (and a few females showed up) strutting their stuff. The first day I went out there were 40 mph winds and I couldn’t even […]
The U.S. House of Representatives Declares War on Wildlife and the Environment
Can the second session of the 113th U.S. House of Representatives be any more harmful to wildlife and the environment than the first session of 2013? It appears that they can! On January 3, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives convened to start its second session of the 113th Congress. By the end of the […]
Rare Art Works by John James Audubon at Auction on December 5th Part VI
A rare collection of 82 original, hand-colored engravings of birds and quadrupeds by John James Audubon will come under the hammer in New York on 5th December 2012. “The Birds of America” was published in London between 1827 and 1838 by Robert Havell. Although some items will be purchased by art galleries for public display, […]
Greater Sage-Grouse On The Lek – A Sure Sign Of Spring
There is no surer sign of spring in the American West than the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) strutting their stuff on their breeding grounds, known as leks. The Grouse return to traditional leks year after year. Males display two inflated yellow air sacks on their throats and spread their long pointed tail feathers to attract […]