Outfitting a Wild Life: Sage Grouse Work

I currently am working with Sage Grouse. We are collecting data to better understand the how the current population is doing. Because Sage Grouse trapping is such a unique experience and people always ask, I figured I would write it down.

Sage Grouse trapping is all done at night when the moon is less than half full. We drive out to the study area a few hours after dark. Once we get near the trapping area we stop and prepare the truck. We tape speakers to the hood of the truck and hook up the spotlight and get all the gear ready. We black out all of the lights on the truck. The only light that is on out there is the spotlight and it is the only light available to the driver.

The speakers are used to blast Rock music into the night. It covers the sound of talking and footsteps, which might flush the birds. But more importantly they keep the trapping crew awake. The spotlight is used to find the birds and also to confuse and blind them once we find them. The spotlighter sits in a chair in the bed of the truck that sits up behind the cab of the truck. They scan through binoculars with truck stopped to find the eye shine of the grouse. The spotlight has been described, in my opinion; fairly accurately as the Eye of Sauron. Once the spotligher spots a grouse the netters jump out of the truck and grab their nets. The bird is usually some distance away and the netters have to walk through the sage, rocks and dark with no headlamps.

Daniel Spotlighting for Grouse

As the truck moves closer to the bird the netters peel off from the truck. The spotlighter keeps the spotlight on the grouse the entire time. Once the truck is about 10 to 15ft from the bird the netter walks in from the dark side and places the net over the grouse.

Once the bird is in hand we start to process it. We weigh it, put a leg band on, age and sex it, and equip it with a GPS backpack or a radio collar. Whether they get a GPS Backpack or radio collar depends on the individual bird weigh. This process is pretty quick. Once done the bird is released off behind the truck with all the lights off. The entire trapping process has been likened an alien abduction with all the bright lights and added devices.

Hen Getting Radio Collar

Hen getting fitted for GPS Backpack

After finishing our trapping we have to track the birds and get locations on them. We try to focus on hens during this period to determine the nest success. That pretty much covers it. We can trap from a truck, ATV, or on foot with a backpack. I'll add a few more pictures following this.