Lesser Prairie Chickens and more (1 Viewer)

Last April my husband and I attended the Leks Treks and More Lesser Prairie Chicken Festival in Woodward Oklahoma. We had limited time and could only spend one day. On Saturday we joined others in the blinds at the Selmon Ranch before dawn. As the sun began to rise the chickens rose to their platforms (dirt mounds) and began their dance. We were very close to the action as the males struted and tried their best to attract the females. They danced for almost 2 hours. Then it was like someone rang a bell and they all scattered to go about their daily chores of finding food.

We were taken back to the ranch house for a ranch breakfast that was cooked to perfection. After eating our fill we loaded up in the vans and went out to mark fences. The prairie chickens are low flying birds that can easily hit the barbed wire fences. We were placing short pieces of white vinyl siding on the barbed wire so that the chickens would be able to see the fences. It is a very cheap and easy way to prevent losses due to fence collisions. These birds will most likely be joining the endangered species list in the future. The area in western Oklahoma is prime area for wind generators and the chickens don't even like a short tree in their area. It might have a hawk hiding in it. They will not go near any tall object.

This April they have added a trek to see Greater Prairie chickens and I am signing up. I would also like to go to the panhandle but my work doesn't allow that muich time off. They have a trek to the Salt Plains also but we get to visit it every fall. This year we were able to see the whooping cranes along with sandhills and many other migrating water birds.

Has anyone ever seen either the lesser or the greater prairie chicken? What was your experience like?

Thanks for posting a report on seeing Lesser Prairie Chicken. I hope to see them that way myself some day. Have seen Greater Prairie Chickens on one of the only remaining leks in Illinois- fantastic experience!

An interesting read. I'd certainly like to make the trip to see lekking grouse in the US, Colorado in particular. My visit to a Greater Prairie Chicken lek in Rothsay, Minnesota three years ago was frustrating - we found the lek site in a wonderful area of prairie in the evening, and it was teeming with life, Bobolinks everywhere, displaying Marbled Godwit, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, singing Le Conte's Sparrows etc. Then we returned at dawn for the prairie chickens to find the site cloaked in a dense fog. We could hear the prairie chickens displaying quite close to us but we couldn't see a thing. After two hours of waiting in vain for the fog to lift we drove off disappointed but about a mile down the road we had to slam the brakes on as a female Greater Prairie Chicken wandered down the road in front of us - a lifer but would have preferred displaying males.

I’ve never seen either species of prairie chicken, unfortunately, on lek or off, and have long planned to head east and do something about it (and one of these days maybe I actually will!). In compensation I’ve had a number of long satisfying sessions at Greater Sage Grouse leks in western Nevada and have also occasionally flushed the huge birds in the off-season & watched them sail off across the desert, a spectacular sight as impressive in its way as the leks.

me neither, although a lekking site lies within 3 hours of my house. Unfortunately you have to sign up in advance to visit the site, which includes a mandatory hotel stay plus other costs. Given weather is at it's iffiest during the peak of their breeding season, I haven't been able to go yet

although this festival sounds interesting...might attempt a trip this spring depending on work load and money.

Seeing lesser prairie chickens

The visit I made was the third year of the festival. The first year, as the story was told to me, it rained the week before and the roads were very muddy. The vans carrying the folks from the hotel to the ranch got stuck in the mud just short of the ranch so Sue, the woman who owns the ranch, drove her tractor down and pulled them out of the mud. The guests were quite amazed at the sight of a woman rancher on a tractor coming to their rescue.

We were stationed in blinds so close to the leks. The blinds provided wind blocks for us and seats. Fog wouldn't be a problem since it is almost always windy. We couldn't get up and move around nor could we make loud noises but the chickens have always done their dance. I am pretty sure that everyone was able to see them in all three festivals. A storm could prevent you from seeing them but you could always return the next morning.

The birdchick has a better report of her experience at the first festival on her blog. It has lots of pictures and some vedios. Google leks treks and more birdchick and you should see her website.