Western grouse enjoying eastern life
Published Saturday October 4th, 2008
One of the most interesting members of our wild bird community is no doubt the grouse. These "chicken-like" birds are unique in the way they conduct their daily affairs and the way they can outsmart hunters and predators with their wily and secretive lifestyle.
In New Brunswick, we have two native grouse species, the Ruffed Grouse and the Spruce Grouse.
And yes, the Ruffed Grouse and Spruce Grouse have asked me to make sure to point out they are grouse, not partridge as we so often refer to them to their irritation. Gray Partridge were introduced to the Maritimes in the 1940s however, they failed to firmly establish in New Brunswick. A remnant population still exists in the Truro, Nova Scotia area and a modest population has maintained itself on P.E.I.
On the contrary, the Ring-necked Pheasant was introduced into the Maritimes and the population in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in some areas has grown and maintained itself however, the Ring-necked Pheasant has not done well on P.E.I. in spite of continued introductions. The Spruce Grouse is also not present on P.E.I.
However, another grouse was introduced into P.E.I. 20 years ago that seemed to like what it found on the "gentle isle" and as of 2008, has established a population albeit still a limited one. Today, let's get introduced to the Sharp-tailed Grouse.
The Sharp-tailed Grouse is a bird native to the western grasslands of Manitoba and Saskatchewan with fringes of their population extending into parts of Ontario, further west, and North of these two Prairie Provinces. In the late 80s, the late director of the P.E.I. Fish and Wildlife Section and the Souris Fish and Game group were discussing the possibility of introducing a new game bird to P.E.I. They contacted the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Fish and Wildlife Departments and the deal was made to live trap some Sharp-tailed Grouse and fly them to P.E.I. for release in an area chosen in the Clear Springs area that had habitat not dissimilar to the open habitat favoured by the Sharp-tailed Grouse in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. A release of 40 or more Sharp-tailed Grouse resulted and over the next few years smaller numbers of releases of a few to a dozen birds again arrived via the great man-made silver bird to be released in the Cable Head area of P.E.I.
So what has happened over the past 20 years to the western Sharp-tailed Grouse sampling Eastern fare? Over the 20 years, it was noted Sharp-tailed Grouse were being seen with increased frequency in that certain part of P.E.I. generally within 50 km of where they were first released. It was obvious the population was maintaining itself and population growth seemed apparent.
Although watchful records of sightings were kept, there was no real assessment of the Sharp-tailed Grouse until Brad Potter, a wildlife technician with the PEI Fish and Wildlife Section set out to undertake an organized investigation of the bird by studying for a Masters degree under the tutorship of the University of Prince Edward Island concentrating on the Sharp-tailed Grouse on PEI. His ongoing work has been very revealing, as well as challenging, to watch and assess this bird that is very effective at avoiding the prying eyes of humans interested in their welfare.
One of the very intriguing behaviours of the Sharp-tailed Grouse is its "custom" of gathering on the precise same "dancing ground" each spring called a lek. A lek is a very carefully chosen relatively small piece of real estate chosen by a group of males. Each male grouse establishes its own section of turf within the communal lek. Each spring, the males arrive at the same lek area and at dawn will perform a peculiar courtship dance, characterized by rapid stomping of the feet, lowered head, ruffled plumage, and a low booming sound produced through the mouth by air from inflated purplish sacs on the side of the neck. The whole idea of this dawn dancing routine is to attract a female Sharp-tailed Grouse and when one arrives to check out the male line up, one can only imagine the "goins on" among the males as each one is convinced he is undoubtedly the ultimate Prince Charming of the group and should be selected as a suitor.
This all happens for a few hours at dawn in the crisp temperatures of late April and May. It's an awesome show, however, Sharp-tailed Grouse are very serious about their privacy and all the birds are on guard for a non-wanted audience. It was with great anticipation that Brad Potter let me tag along for a "lek check." We met at dawn and very quietly set up binoculars and telescopes aimed at a known lek site and remained as still and quiet as possible a long distance off so as to remain undetected. We were surely not disappointed when the dancing, inflated purple air sacs pumped up like bagpipes, and the show was on. It was awesome, but over by 7 a.m.
Brad Potter's preliminary assessment of the Sharp-tailed Grouse on P.E.I. suggests the population at the moment is quite modest yet expanding slowly but steadily. The Sharp-tailed Grouse seem to have chosen large blueberry farm sites on P.E.I. to establish their leks. It's an area of P.E.I. visitors would not normally visit. It was a surprise to me to visit an area that had farms of thousands of acres in blueberry production.
When the P.E.I. Fish and Wildlife personnel decided to invite a new game bird species to the area, they had obviously done their homework. They knew there were parts of PEI with large exposed open areas not dissimilar to the Sharp-tailed Grouse habitat in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They were also aware of the hardiness of this bird. The Sharp-tailed Grouse may be an open spaces bird in the snow free time of the year however, in winter it takes to the trees with a complete culinary shift to dine on birch and aspen buds and catkins.
That food supply is readily available on P.E.I. They dine during the day and as darkness approaches have no hesitation to dive into the snow and bed down under an insulating blanket of snow. Being heavily feathered right to the feet makes for great warm "leggings" as well. The other important factor to consider when introducing a new species is its impact on other resident species. The Sharp-tailed Grouse appears to have no negative effect on any other species due to its habitat use.
Will the Sharp-tailed Grouse make the short flight to join us in New Brunswick? It's obviously in no rush to do so as no confirmed sightings have been made in New Brunswick since its arrival on P.E.I. 20 years ago. New Brunswick does indeed have habitat that could be considered suitable, however, enough males would have to arrive at the right spot to form a lek and a female find them. With all these coincidences necessary, the Sharp-tailed Grouse joining us in New Brunswick could be now or never!
Any sightings of this grouse in New Brunswick would be of great interest. Keep a "grouse eye" open. All thanks to present and retired members of the Prince Edward Island Fish and Wildlife Section for providing information and review of this information and especially Brad Potter for sharing a wonderful opportunity to see this amazing avian dance routine from the "back bleachers."
* Nelson Poirier, from the Moncton area, is a veterinarian by trade and a naturalist by nature. His column appears each Saturday and he can be reached at P.O. Box 25091, Moncton, N.B. E1C 9M9 or e-mail nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.
More Life & Times
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
