Article on Wyoming's other prairie grouse

[Ben Lamb]

Tom Christiansen has spent more time working on grouse than anyone I can think of. His work in WY was groundbreaking for sagies, and for the collaborative approach to management. This is a good piece and worth a few minutes to peruse.

Wyoming’s Famous Grouse, Its Neglected Cousin, and a Threat to Both - Wyoming Wildlife Federation

Sage-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse are some of the best indicator species we have. How do we conserve these birds? Find out from lifelong bio Tom Christiansen.

wyomingwildlife.org

 

[OntarioHunter]

Interesting. I didn't know there are subspecies of sharptails. They have quite a range. Occasionally they can be found in the boreal forest north of here all the way to James Bay basin.

The last two years have produced a helluva boom in sharpies where I hunt along Montana's Hi Line. I don't recall ever seeing so many sharptails, not even when I was a kid during the sixties and seventies. Like ruff grouse and Huns they seem to be subject to inexplicable cycles. Some years when conditions are right the birds are still nowhere to be found. Then the next year when Nature seems to do everything wrong, there's birds everywhere. Three years ago I wouldn't shoot a sharptail because there were so few. Last year it seemed a limit of sharpies would jump in the truck in five minutes if you left the window open when driving. Flocks of dozens of birds were around every corner. However, I gotta say I haven't seen a "good" fall for Huns in the last ten years.

 

[bullbugle]

Thanks for posting this one Ben. We put a hell of a lot of money into our pheasant stocking program in SE Wyoming but the sharpies don't get much attention.

Martin's a good biologist, nice to see him quoted in the article. I'll be interested to see who ends up replacing him in Wheatland, but I'm glad he moved up the ladder in the region.

 

[bpitt]

We've been hunting for antelope/deer the last couple of years around the greater Sheridan area. Being from Mississippi, I only know what a pheasant and a quail look like. Grouse, ptarmingain (sp?), and others I can't positively identify. With that being said, we flush a few 'somethings' while walking a kinda hilly area just outside Sheridan. They looked kinda like gigantic quail to me, there were about 3 of them together, scared the crap outta us. I'd love to hunt'em while we're out there, but I'm not sure what it is I'm seeing.

 

[bullbugle]

I'm not as familiar with that part of the state, but based on your description you might be seeing some chukar or huns up there.

 

[Ben Lamb]

We've been hunting for antelope/deer the last couple of years around the greater Sheridan area. Being from Mississippi, I only know what a pheasant and a quail look like. Grouse, ptarmingain (sp?), and others I can't positively identify. With that being said, we flush a few 'somethings' while walking a kinda hilly area just outside Sheridan. They looked kinda like gigantic quail to me, there were about 3 of them together, scared the crap outta us. I'd love to hunt'em while we're out there, but I'm not sure what it is I'm seeing.

Sagies are big birds, about the size of a chicken. When they take flight, there's little room for misidentifying them. They are called B-52's for a solid reason.
Depending on the size, I would think huns or possibly a chukar, but it could be a lost covey of ruffeds (I've put them up in habitat like what you're describing, but it's rare). Check season dates as I think you're pretty early for WY upland. Good luck with the speedgoat tag!