field notes from 02/08/23

Crex Meadows sharp-tails at dawn

· Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Wisconsin · Cold clear morning, 30°F, dead calm · Fujifilm X-T5, 150-600mm

Drove up from Minneapolis the night before. The Crex Meadows sharp-tailed grouse leks are active from mid-March into early May and they’re easy to find if you know where to look. I set up a blind at the edge of a known lek at 4:45 a.m. and watched seven males display for about ninety minutes after first light. Very cold. Very worth it.

Shooting from a blind changes how I think about composition. I can’t move the camera more than a few inches, so I pre-compose and wait. Different pace.

Sharp-tailed grouse displaying, purple patches
Inflated and stomping. Purple air sacs flashing. Sharp-tailed Grouse 500mm, 1/1250s, f/8, ISO 1000
Two sharp-tails facing off
Two males in a standoff. Wings spread. Sharp-tailed Grouse 300mm, 1/1000s, f/8, ISO 1250
Sharp-tail hen watching
Hen. Unimpressed. Sharp-tailed Grouse 500mm, 1/1250s, f/6.3, ISO 400
Prairie-chicken on edge of lek
Single prairie-chicken at the edge. Greater Prairie-Chicken, neighbor 500mm, 1/1000s, f/7.1, ISO 800
Sandhill crane pair in grass
Local pair. Heard before seen. Sandhill Crane 300mm, 1/1250s, f/8, ISO 400
Sedge wren on a dry stem
New back in territory. Sedge Wren 200mm, 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO 200
Le Conte's sparrow on grass
Heard more than seen. Le Conte's Sparrow 250mm, 1/800s, f/5.6, ISO 200
Trumpeter swan on still water
Pair on a near pond. Trumpeter Swan 350mm, 1/1250s, f/7.1, ISO 640
Coyote trotting along edge
Paralleled the road for a hundred yards. Brush wolf (coyote) 400mm, 1/800s, f/6.3, ISO 640
Wide view of grassland
Early-spring grassland. Brown. Crex Meadows grassland 23mm, 1/1000s, f/11, ISO 400