Field Notes

Periodically on this page, our biologists will update you on the latest information uncovered as we collect and analyze the telemetry data for the marked sage grouse. You can visit the other pages on our website to look at maps or to get more detailed information about the study. But on this page we'll give you general information about how the project is going. We'll also try to point out and describe some interesting characteristics about the birds we're tracking or the habitat that the data tells us they're using.

Field Notes for 10/18/05

Long Valley: 16 hens, 2 males
This will be the final update of all study areas for 2005. As expected, most of the birds used the large meadows near lek 2 and lek 9 for most of the summer. With the onset of fall and cooler temperatures they have moved out of the meadows and into the adjacent sage flats. The lone exception is a hen that continues to use the west slope of the Glass Mountains behind Inaja Land Company. Major movement has been seen in only a few of the birds that have moved several kilometers north to south or visa versa. Four of theses hens have failing transmitters and have not been located in months and probably will not be found again. Three mortalities were found between 8/22 and 9/14. The tests for WNV were negative and the mortalities appear predator related.

Bodie Hills: 7 hens, 1 male
Since most of the hens had successful broods this year the summer movements were limited by most of the birds. This may also be due to the extremely wet winter and spring in the area resulting in lush vegetation. All but two of the birds are currently using the hills surrounding Big Flat in north Bodie. These birds were all captured in this area last fall and this past spring. The other two birds have failing transmitters and may not be found again. Four mortalities were found in Bodie between 7/15 and 9/28. Two of the mortalities were hens with broods in late July. The other two were near Big Flat in late September. All mortalities appear to be predator related. In September we trapped and sampled 25 birds from Bodie for genetics, parasites, etc.

Jackass Flat: 4 hens
Three of the four remaining hens are still using the hills surrounding 4th of July spring. The other hen has moved north of Desert Creek and is using the Sage Hen Creek drainage. Three of these hens spent last fall and winter at Sweetwater Flat but have yet to go there this fall. The lack of movement is probably due to the good water year and lush vegetation. Two mortalities were found in June. One was a hen on her nest and the other a hen that did not attempt a nest. Two additional moralities were found on 8/26 and 9/15, respectively. All four were probably predator related.

Parker Meadows: 3 hens, 1 male
Only one of the four birds in this area has a transmitter strong enough to be consistently found. One hen's transmitter seems to have completely failed. The remaining three have been using all edges of Parker Meadows west of Highway 395. The cooler temperatures have pushed them to the higher northern section of the meadows. No mortalities have been found in this area since 5/2.

Field Notes for 5/29/2005

Long Valley: 17 hens, 4 males
This year's spring capture added 8 hens and one male to our group of collared birds in this study area. The first nest was found in this area two weeks later than the first nest of 2004, probably due to the long winter. So far this nesting season we have found nests for 13 of the 17 hens. The 13 first nest attempts have produced 2 successful nests, 8 unsuccessful nests and 3 are still in the incubation period (TBD). One hen has recently attempted a second nest and the fate is TBD. Locations for the nests go as follows: 7 nests in the hills around leks 2 and 4, 2 nests in the hills north of lek 1, 3 nests in the hills west of lek 8, one nest at the base of the Glass Mountains, one nest on the west side of Highway 395 across from the airport. As expected, the males have all been using the breeding grounds (leks) and surrounding areas. Lek attendance goes as follows: one male at lek 2, one male at lek 4, one male at lek 10A, and one male at lek 8. Another male was recorded as mortality on lek 4, probably an eagle or owl kill.

Bodie Hills: 9 hens, 3 males
A spring capture of 3 hens has been added to this group. So far this nesting season, 7 of our 9 hens have attempted one nest. 2 of these nests have been predated (unsuccessful) and 5 nests are still TBD. Locations for the nests go as follows: 2 in the hills of Bridgeport Canyon, one in the hills north of Conway Ranch, one in the hills east of Mt. Biedeman, one in the canyon south of Bodie Peak, one on the west edge of Dry Lakes Plateau and one in the hills west of Big Flat. Lek attendance for the males goes as follows: one male at the Big Flat lek, one male at the Biedeman lek and one male is unknown. Since the last update 6 birds have been recorded as mortalities (5 hens, 1 male) for this study area. The hen mortalities have been found southeast of 7 Troughs, east of Big Flat, near Lower Summers Meadow, near Cottonwood Canyon and just north of Bodie State Park. The male mortality was near Big Flat.

Jackass Flat: 8 hens
The hard winter did not allow access to this area until late spring. So far nests have been found for 4 of the 8 hens. All 4 are still in the incubation period with fates TBD. 3 of these nests have been found in the hills south of the lek with another near Forth of July Spring. Since access was limited in early spring some of the hens may have attempted/lost a nest before it could be found. No spring captures or mortalities to report from this study area.

Parker Meadows: 3 hens, 1 male
With the breeding season all of the birds in this area have returned to the hills around Parker Meadows, west of Highway 395. Nests have been found for all 3 of the hens. All are near the end of the incubation period with fates TBD soon. The nests are located in the hills west of the Parker Meadows. The male was observed on the lek several times. He was also seen strutting with other males near Parker Creek creating a satellite lek to the traditional lek. One hen and one male have been recorded as mortalities in this study area. The hen was found in the hills west of Grant Lake and the male near the base of the Mono Craters, east of Highway 395. No new birds were captured this spring.

Burcham Flat: 1 hen
The only remaining collared bird in this area was found for the first time in months recently. The old age of her collar has made her very hard to locate but she was seen with no sign of a nest or brood. She was caught in the spring of 2003 and is the only bird from this study area to have survived more than one year after capture. No new birds were captured this spring.

Field Notes for April 7, 2005

Jackass Flat: 8 hens
Four of the hens spent the entire winter at the lower elevation Sweetwater Flat. All four have now returned to the Jackass Flat area where they all established nests last breeding season. The remaining four spent the entire winter in the Jackass Flat area utilizing the exposed sage along the ridge tops just north of Desert Creek. The most recent locations show six of the eight using the Desert Creek drainage.

Parker Meadows: 2 males, 4 hens
All six collared birds and presumably most of the Parker population spent the entire winter east of Highway 395 along the base of the Mono Craters. Both males and two hens have recently been observed crossing back to the west side of the highway closer to their traditional breeding grounds. Many seem to make almost daily migrations across the highway but as the snow melts they should begin to stay near the breeding grounds west of the highway.

Bodie Hills: 4 males, 9 hens
With breeding season now upon us, all the hens remaining from last spring have returned to the areas where they nested last year. Most are now located in the southern half of Bodie near the state park, Mt. Biedeman and Bridgeport Canyon. Several have traveled many miles from their wintering areas during the past couple of weeks. Two males have been found near the Big Flat lek area while the other two are around the Biedeman lek area. One hen, which was caught this past fall, was recorded as mortality in the Big Flat area in early March. A second hen was recently found as mortality between Big Flat and Dry Lakes Plateau.

Long Valley: 4 males, 8 hens
Long Valley is in process of melting out. It's been a long snowy winter with promises of more snow to come. Tracking has been challenging since the transmitters are showing their age and slowly getting weaker and weaker. Some birds with older transmitters have resurfaced near lek 2 and males are popping up at leks around the valley. Most of the collared birds have recently left their wintering area in the southeast corner of the valley. All four males have been found near a lek in the past two weeks, while the hens have spread out to all parts of the valley. Several have been found in the central part of the valley near the largest lekking areas. Others have moved farther north near Antelope Valley and the Cain Ranch. Access still is limited since snow is not generally continuous which rules out hiking and skiing. But sometimes I end up skiing and then hiking in my ski boots. We are praying for sun so the roads open up and access to areas becomes easier so we can find all of the birds. Traditionally, nesting begins first in this area but the start will probably be pushed back slightly due to this year's heavy winter.

Field Notes for February 1, 2005

Long Valley: 13 individuals collared, 10 hens, 3 males
With the setting in of winter, most of our birds have moved into the hills of the northern end of Long Valley. Several other birds have been using the exposed areas at the base of the Glass Mountains along the northern half of the valley. The northern half of the valley has been utilized by our birds for the past two winters as well. Birds have also been using the southern end of the valley just west of Crowley Lake. At least one of our birds has been located in this area recently. Bird ID #77 was found dead on December 17,2004 due to a suspected avian predator. Aerial locations have become the most efficient way to locate most our birds in this area.

Parker: 6 individuals collared, 4 hens, 2 males
Winter has pushed all six of the birds to the east side of Highway 395 in a recently burned area along the base of the Mono Craters. Three of these birds have been consistently located in this area. While the remaining three have been found in this area but less frequently due to very weak transmitter signals. Our only access to this area is by ski since the snowstorms of early January.

Bodie Hills/Big Flat: 16 individuals collared, 12 hens, 4 males
The collared birds in this area have moved to all edges of the Bodie Hills since the snowstorms of early January. Three birds, one male and two hens, have been using the lower elevations of the northern edge of Bodie around China Camp and Nine-mile Ranch. The Big Flat area has been inaccessible since late December but four birds have been located there on the January 20, 2005 Fish and Game telemetry flight. There was also a lone hen located on the Dry Lakes Plateau during the flight. Another four birds, one male and three hens, have been using the hills around Mt. Biedeman and Bridgeport Canyon west to Highway 395. One hen has been consistently found in the hills surrounding Conway Summit. While another hen is using the southern end of Cottonwood Canyon, where the Bodie Hills meets the Mono Basin. Two mortalities were found in mid-December, bird IDs #23 and #81, both were in the Big Flat area. Many of these individuals have infrequent locations due to the lack of access to the majority of this area.

Burcham Flat: 1 hen collared
Two mortalities this winter, the final one last week, have removed the last of the birds that were collared this past spring. The few locations for the winter have been in Burcham Flat and the hills near Fales Hot spring during the heavy snow. The only remaining bird in this area has a very old transmitter and will soon be recorded as a radio failure. This population seems to be rapidly declining with very few random birds being seen since last summer.

Jackass: 8 individuals collared, 8 hens, 0 males
The Jackass flat area has been inaccessible since mid-December. The heavy snow pack will keep it this way well through winter. In early December all but four birds moved east over the hills to the Sweetwater Summit area. The four remaining birds were still in the flat area as of the recent flight. The four others have been using the flat areas to the north and south of Sweetwater Summit. Since the snowstorms of early January three have moved to just north of the summit while the fourth has moved much farther north into the southern end of Smith Valley. There is a large population of birds in the Sweetwater summit area with a group of over one hundred spotted last week.

Field Notes for July 28, 2004

Long Valley:
Currently all the radio-marked birds in Long Valley are separated into three groups. The largest group (containing 9 marked birds) is spread throughout the lek 2 meadow. One flock of 100+ grouse was flushed in this area on the afternoon of 7/28/2004. A group of 5 marked birds are currently residing in the large meadow area with the powerline running through it. It is not uncommon to see flocks of birds feeding with the cattle throughout the day. Both of the areas just described were used by our marked birds last summer. One new documented summer use area is adjacent to Hot Creek just downstream of the geologic site. There is one marked bird here, however, she is on private property.

Burcham Flat: 2 hens
One hen has moved from the area of her attempted nest, overlooking Highway 395, to the northwestern edge of the flat along Burcham Creek. The other hen was using the area southwest of Lava Springs but has recently been using the slopes along Burcham Creek not too far from the first hen.

Wheeler Flat: 2 males, 3 hens
Both males had been using the sage stands around the meadows located behind the hills to the south of Wheeler Flat but have recently moved down to the flat. One hen hatched a successful nest in the for-mentioned hills has been using that area, near the main creek, with her lone surviving chick. One hen can still be found west of the Little Walker River. She has been using the area around Cowcamp Creek and sometimes the meadows located north of the creek. The final hen had a successful nest just to the south of Highway 395. The hen and her brood used this area for several weeks then crossed the highway towards Burcham Flat. Currently, she and the six surviving chicks are located on the hill south of Burcham Creek and east of Burcham Flat road.

Jackass: 8 hens
All 5 broods survived to greater than 50 days old. Ultimately there were 3 broods that utilized the burned area south of the lek. One of the hens that nested north of the lek, brought her brood there when they were approximately a month and a half old. She is currently in the high hills east of desert creek in between coyote and sage hen creeks. There is another hen that nested in between the lek and desert creek that is now using the meadows and hills around and east of desert creek. A hen that nested and used the area around the burn is currently using the meadows east and north of the lek. The meadows are fairly dry, but she may visit the 4th of July spring complex as it is close by. Two hens from the burn have now joined the 3 original hens that are in the hills between the lek and Jackass spring. I find them primarily in Mtn sage, but I am sure they can drop down to Jackass spring fairly readily from time to time. The two males that were up near Lobdell Lake were both found as mortalities in mid and late June. One appears to be a raptor kill, the was a mammal, possibly a coyote.

Bodie Hills/Big Flat: 2 hens, 2 males
One male and both hens were using the low sage stands above the fence-line along the peaks to the west of Big Flat. The hen that had a successful nest in this area lost her brood early on but is still using this area but the others have moved. The other hen has moved to the higher elevation hills to the southwest of Paramount Mine. The male has been constantly moving around the higher elevations of the Bodie Hills. He has been found around Paramount mine, at the top of Potato Peak, and most recently in the hills east of Big Flat. The final male has been using the low sage slopes to the west of Paramount Mine.

Bodie Hills: 12 hens, 2 males
None of the Bodie Hills birds that were seen in Bridgeport Canyon earlier in the year have remained. Three of them moved to higher elevation around the Bodie Peak area, and two of them have moved west of Hwy. 395, utilizing the area around Conway Summit. One of those birds has recently moved to the meadows at the south end of Bridgeport valley joining a female that moved there from Bridgeport Canyon. The bird that nested near Dynamo pond had a successful brood and is currently in the hills west of the pond. Generally, during the month of June, birds in Bodie Hills chose to move to higher elevations. During July many have been observed around areas of flowing water. They have in general been moving frequently and distantly - one bird nested in a canyon near Sugarloaf Peak, moved her brood to Bodie Peak area not long after hatching, then was subsequently seen at Dry Lakes, in the hills south of Dry Lakes, and then again back at Bodie Peak. To date, there have been four successful broods past 50 days in Bodie Hills, and it is likely two more will be deemed successful within the week. Five of the hens had depredated nests prior to hatching, and only one of them attempted to re-nest, again being unsuccessful. There was only one hen observed who was successful in hatching but unsuccessful in keeping her brood past 50 days. The hens with broods have been frequently seen in the vicinity of other birds, especially females, who themselves often also have broods. Some hens, however, have been often observed alone with their broods. There have been no mortalities among the collared birds in the Bodie Hills since the lekking season.

Parker: 2 males, 4 hens
The birds at Parker Meadows have been consistently utilizing the upper meadows, and have been frequently been seen either on the edge of the perennial streams or very near to them. They appear to be feeding on the high grasses and forbes supported by moist ground. Quite frequently when observed in the afternoon hours they have been resting. They have also been consistently seen in groups of anything of two to fifteen, the average being five or six. Of the three hens that were successful in hatching, only one had a brood that was successful past fifty days. She was observed with two chicks at that point. On every occasion after June 21 that she has been observed, she has been in the lower meadows, either at water's edge or in groves of rubber rabbitbrush. She has recently been observed without her brood, as they have apparently separated from her. The hen that was still nesting as of the last update was observed to be incubating for at least 45 days. The eggs may have been infertile but we don't know for sure because the eggs were eventually predated. One female at Parker Meadows was observed as a mortality on June 3. Her transmitter was found on the ground, with only a few scattered feathers in the area. The cause of death was not certain.

Field Notes for June 4, 2004

Burcham Flat: 2 hens
One of the hens built a nest towards the top of the southern slopes overlooking Highway 395. Though she still uses this same area, her nest was predated during the last few days of incubation. The other hen laid her eggs about 500 meters east of the first hen's nest. She lost her nest early in the incubation period and has since moved to the area southwest of Lava Springs.

Long Valley:
5 new birds were captured and collared in Long Valley this Spring bringing the total to 20 birds. Captures were done at leks: 10a (male 7555), 4 (male 7142, female 4281), 3 (female 4281) and 8 (male 7131). Currently there are 16 collared birds, 4 were predated (7131, 4778, 7013 & 4978) likely by mammals. Nesting began around the second week of April. Initially 9 hens were nesting, ( 1 hen 300M north of the Airport, 1 hen NW of Lek 9, 1 hen in Antelope Valley- near Lek 8, 1 hen near Lek 1, 1 hen to the Southeast of Lek 3, 1 hen to the Northwest of Lek 4, 1 hen at the base of Glass Mountains, 1 hen near Lek 1, and 1 hen South of Benton Crossing Rd to the north of the road that goes to Lek 4) in Long Valley. As of 4/22 two of those nest have been predated (the hen at the base of the glass mountains and the hen near Lek 1). Three hens are still on the move. 1 hen has been back and forth between Lek 1 and Lek 2, 1 hen has been in Antelope Valley by the north end of the road before the tree line, and 1 hen has been between Lek 4 and Lek 3. They are not nesting as of yet. The males have stayed in the same general locations. 2 Males have consistently been Northeast of lek 4 with 8-22 other males. 1 Male stays around lek 2 but has also been located in a group of males from Lek 4. 1 Male has stayed at lek 10a up until 4/22 when he was heard around lek 10.

Wheeler Flat: 2 males, 3 hens
Both males, along with 10 to 15 others, have been using the area between the lek and the hills north of Mahogany Ridge. One hen has hatched out a brood in these same hills and continues to use this area lush with forbs. Another hen also had a successful nest about 500 meters south of Highway 395. The hen and her brood have been using the large stand of mountain big sage in the nest area northeast of Wheeler Flat. The final hen began to nest along the drainage due west from Little Walker Cowcamp. Her nest failed early in the incubation period and she moved to the area around Cowcamp Creek, still west of the Little Walker River.

Big Flat: 1 male, 2 hens
The male, along with a group of about 20 others, has been using the area from the lek to the peaks along the western edge of the flat. The two hens have also been using the same peaks. One hen did not attempt a nest and is usually in a group with several other hens. The other hen built a nest of the western slope of the peaks, overlooking Bridgeport Reservoir. Her nest was successful and she has since brought her brood to the stands of low sage along the top of the peaks

Jackass: 2 males, 8 hens
The two males have stayed in the vicinity of the lek until mid may. They then proceeded to follow the same general route of the male we had marked up at JA last year and are currently 1 Km SW of Lobdell Lake. Out of the 9 hens, 7 nested. All were successful except for one that appears to have been predated during hatching. One hen was found as mortality, when the brood was 3-4 weeks old. I still see the juveniles in the area. That leaves 5 broods up at Jackass. Once again this year, 2 hens with broods are using areas around the old cannon fire burn. A third hen is nearby but using high hills covered with low sage. The last two hens are using the hills NW of the lek, primarily being found amongst the Mtn sage. An interesting side note, a bear has been traveling in between JA spring and desert creek.

Field Notes for April 24, 2004

Bodie Hills

Bridgeport Canyon: 5 hens, 1 male
2 of the hens are nesting. One is nesting in a dense mountain big sagebrush area. She is to the west of the Bridgeport Canyon road on a steep slope. The other nesting hen is on the east side of the Bridgeport Canyon road above drainage in a sparse mountain big sagebrush area. One hen was nesting just below a ridge, due west of Mt. Biedeman amongst mountain big sage. Her nest was found predated 2 days after she started incubating. Another hen has been using the same area for the last couple of weeks. She had been seen with other hens, but for the past 4 days has been alone and is most likely laying eggs. She has been found west of Bridgeport Canyon road in a relatively flat mountain big sagebrush area. The last hen has moved from east of 395 Highway to an area above Dynamo Pond, which is west of 395. She is not nesting yet but has been utilizing the same mountain big sage area for the past 2.5 weeks. For the past 2 weeks the male has continued to use the same general area around drainage east of Bridgeport Canyon Road. He has been seen alone and with other males in both low sage and mountain big sage.

Murphy Spring: 1 hen
This hen was originally at China Camp and for the past month has been on the same mountain near the top of the ridge, east of Murphy Spring. She has been incubating for the past couple days.

Big Flat: 2 males, 3 hens
One male has been consistently found in the western hills of the Big Flat area. The other male has been constantly moving. He has been found in Big Flat, Dry Lakes, inside Bodie State Park, and most recently around Mt. Biedeman. Two of the hens normally use the low sagebrush slopes on the western peaks of the flat overlooking Bridgeport Reservoir. Both of these hens appear to be ready to nest in this area. The other hen has traveled to the southeastern edge of the Bodie Hills. She has begun to nest overlooking Cedar Hill and the eastern edge of Mono Lake.

Dry Lakes: 4 hens
One hen has started to incubate her nest on the northwestern edge of Dry Lakes. Another hen has been found in Dry Lakes, the Big Flat area and recently has been using the area around the Brawley Peaks. The third hen has moved to the area northeast of Mt. Biedeman. The final hen has been missing or had a radio failure but was last found east of Bodie State Park

Burcham Flat: 2 males, 4 hens

Two hens have been using the slopes east of Burcham Flat overlooking Highway 395. One is already incubating her nest and the other seems to be very close to nesting as well. Another hen can be found south of Highway 395 directly across from Burcham Flat. The last hen has also crossed Highway 395. She appears to be building a nest in between the Little Walker River and Junction Reservoir. Both of the males from this area were found as mortalities around the flat on the same day. An eagle seemed to be the suspect in both cases.

Wheeler Flat: 1 male, two hens
The male has been using the middle of the flat, around the lek area, with several other males. One hen? has been found north of the lek area with a group of several males for the last several weeks. The other hen has built a nest in dense mountain sage on the northern slope of Mahogany Ridge overlooking the flat.

Jackass: 2 males, 9 hens
The two males have been on the Lek strutting all of the four mornings that I counted the lek. Peak count at the lek has been 22, and I will go one more time before the end of April. They have been staying in groups of at least 10 males and utilize Low Sage and Mountain Big Sage slopes to the west of the Lek. 3 hens use the hills to the north of the lek. One is staying fairly local and is most likely laying. The other 2 hens are nesting within 75 meters of each other. A hen from last year is nesting near Jackass spring and is only 400M from last year's nest location. Another hen has been staying within a 200 square meter area in the flats to the south of the lek, but has been recently moved 1.5KM to the east hills. Two hens from last year are nesting in a drainage to the southeast of the Lek. They are within 200M of their nesting locations from last year. One of these hens was found down in Smith Valley near the Desert Creek Leks in February and returned to Jackass in mid March. A third hen is a little bit further south, nesting adjacent to the Cannon Fire burn. The final Jackass hen is using the east facing hills on the west side of Desert Creek. She has been moving around still but will hopefully settle down before too long. She spent a week and a half at the Wiley Ditch Lek area in Nevada during mid March

Parker: 2 males, 5 females
We currently have seven birds with transmitters at Parker, two males and five hens. Four of the five hens are definitely incubating at this time, and it is suspected that the fifth has a nest and will be incubating soon. Three of the hens have chosen nest sites on an east-facing hill within approximately 200 meters of one another. Another is nesting within 20 meters of Walker Creek. All of the hens have chosen to nest under Mountain Big Sagebrush. Over the course of the last two weeks both the males have not been spotted in any location except on or very close to the upper lek site southeast of Parker Creek. On one occasion they were found feeding together, with one other male.

General Tracking update as of February 15, 2004

Jackass: 4 hens
The four hens continue to use the hills in between Jackass spring and 4th of July spring. Most of the time, two of the hens are in the same flock and the other two are in separate groups. These birds are utililizing low sage slopes where the snow has melted or been blown away, as well as areas with deep snow cover with just the tops of Mountain Sage being exposed. We are still listening for the missing/radio failure hen. There is a slight possibility she could have moved to the Desert Creek or Sweetwater summit areas. This will be an area to check in the near future.

Burcham: 1 hen
This hen has been staying in the area near the turnoff to Lobdell Lake, from Burcham Flat Rd. She has gone back and forth between the hills above Lava springs and the north side of South Deep Creek. This hen has been typically seen with five to ten other birds.

Bodie Hills

Big Flat: 2 males, 4 hens
No major movements by these birds in or out of this area. One male has been using the hills to the southeast of the flat and recently moved to the hills northeast of the corral. The other male has been switching back and forth from the hills south of the flat to the hills due north of the flat. Two hens have stayed faithful to remaining in the flat itself. The last two hens stay in the highest hills north of the flat and east of Masonic mountain. These birds are also utililizing low sage slopes where the snow has melted or been blown away, as well as areas with deep snow cover with just the tops of Mountain Sage being exposed.

Dry Lakes: 1 male, 3 hens
One hen has stayed in the area southeast of Beauty Peak. One male and two hens have been found around the hill west of Beauty Peak. One of these hens has gone back and forth between that area, and the area southeast of Beauty peak. Two hens have moved out of the Dry Lakes area, and into Nevada.

China Camp and Rough Creek: 2 hens
One of the hens from Dry Lakes moved into the long, gentle sloping flats northeast of China Camp and has been seen with about seven other birds. The other hen moved to the hills north/northeast of Rough Creek at the confluence with the East Walker River. There were six hens with her. A scattering of old sign was found in these hills signifying that other birds have used these hills before. Maybe the sign are from birds from the Nine Mile and China Camp Leks, if they are still active. It will be interesting to see if this bird remains in this area or goes back to the Dry Lakes area for the breeding season.

Biedeman, Bridgeport Canyon, Conway Summit, Green Creek: 2 males, 5 hens
Two males and three hens remain in the area on the northeast side of Mt Biedeman. Recently, they have headed northwest to the other side of route 270. One hen has been going back and forth between that area and Bridgeport Canyon. The last hen has gone from the Biedeman area, to Conway Summit, to Green Creek, back to Conway Summit, and most recently, near Bridgeport Canyon.

Parker: 2 males, 1 hen
No major changes in this area. One male continues to be in the vicinity of Oil Plant Rd. The other male and hen remain in the area between the old burn and the base of the Mono Craters, northeast of the Aeolian Buttes.

Long Valley: 2 males, 13 hens
One hen was found as a mortality in the hills north of Little Hot Creek and west of Owens River Rd. Evidence leads to a small mammalian predator, most likely a Bobcat. One male and eleven hens are in big flocks and stay in this area as well. One day, I counted over five hundred birds in this area with the biggest roosting flock containing two hundred fifty plus birds. A few of the birds travel between this area and the hills between Little Hot Creek and Hot Creek. Two hens have remained between the Owens River and the Glass Mountains. One Male was found on the high hills east of Long Valley along Forest Service Rd 3S01, just south of the Watterson Troughs.

General Notes
Birds are using a variety of areas within the study sites. In general, if there are Low Sage slopes that are free of snow, the birds will be found there. After the last snowstorm two weeks ago, these Low Sage slopes were covered by snow. Most of the birds were then found in areas that had deep snow cover, but the Mountain Sage was high enough so the tops protruded above the snow line. An interesting recent observation has been spots where the birds have scratched an area approximately one ft by one ft, an inch into the ground, exposing dry dirt. These have been found in some of their feeding areas on Low Sage Slopes. My best guess is they were looking for roots, tubers, seeds, or insects. On the other hand, they were possibly exposing dry dirt for a dust bath. On two recent occasions males have been observed performing strutting behavior. This occurred after a group of birds was alerted to the observer's presence and just prior to the birds returning to their previous activities. Males were observed fanning rectrices and partially inflating cervical apteria.

General Tracking Update as of January 10, 2003

Jackass Area: 5 hens
We have not been able to reach this area for almost a month. The last few times these birds were tracked we found that three of them were in the hills between the Jackass and Fourth of July springs. One of the hens has been missing for a few months now. During the flight in December we were unable to locate her. This may be attributed to our first radio failure with the ATS transmitters. However, we will still continue to listen for her.

Burcham Flat: 1 hen
Since the middle of November the bird has been in the large hills approximately 3 miles north of Burcham Creek and directly east of Burcham Flat Rd. These hills are adjacent to the "Lava Springs" and North and South Forks of Cottonwood Creek.

Bodie Hills

Big Flat: 4 hens 2 males
Originally we had five hens and two males marked in this area. One of the hens moved to Dry Lakes Plateau, another hen moved from the Biedeman area to come here, and after the flight last month we discovered one of the missing hens on mortality signal. The evidence left indicated a mammal of some sort got to her in November before the heavy snows hit. The remaining four hens and two males up until last tracked in late December were consistently found in the Big Flat area. The locations obtained seem to indicate a usage area with Aurora Canyon Rd. as the southern border, Masonic Spring as the Northern, Logan Spring as the Western, and Paramount Mine as the Eastern borders. The tracks in the snow consist primarily of grouse prints.

Dry Lakes Plateau: 5 hens 1 male
With the addition of the Big Flat hen we now have a total of five hens in the area. Since last tracked in late December the birds showed a pattern of use that indicate the area between the Peaks (both Bald and Beauty) and Atastra Creek is the primary grouse area.

Biedeman/Bridgeport Canyon: 5 hens 2 males
Since the last update in December the male which was found during the summer in Bridgeport Meadow then near Sinnamon Meadow has now moved back to the east side of 395 and is in an area just NE of the radio tower on Conway summit as well as one of the hens marked at Bridgeport Canyon. On the peak just north of this radio tower Matt and I have witnessed flocks of 50+ birds feeding on the low sage (picture included). Two hens in this area have been tracked in the flat areas on either side of 270 before the turn off for Mt. Biedeman. The remaining male moved from this same area more towards the Biedeman area where we have consistently been tracking the last two hens included in this group. At the base of the mountain where the main road ends on a hill we were consistently seeing large flocks which sometimes included one or both of the tagged birds feeding on the mountain big sage. The tracks in the snow consist primarily of grouse prints.

Parker: 1 hen 2 males
The three Parker birds are now on the east side of 395. The male who stayed the latest on the west side moved sometime within the week of the new year and is now in between Oil Plant Rd. and Mono Lake. The other two birds have been keeping together in near the old burn area at the base of the Mono Craters. One exciting development was discovered while tracking the birds last week. Snow burrows! Sarah our new addition and myself were walking in the more open area of the old burn and came across two different roost sites which had a few burrows dug out by the birds. One end had a large opening while the other was rather small but seemed easy enough for a grouse to break through in case of emergency. The snow levels in this area were consistently 34cm and higher.

Long Valley: 14 hens 2 males
Two of the hens have been consistently found near the power lines by the base of the Glass Mountains. A few times in the last month small groups of 7+ birds have been flushed off the road in this area. The last two weeks 13 of the marked birds including one adult male tagged at lek 2 have been in the hills between Antelope Spring Rd. and Owens River Rd. During the week of Christmas approximately 80+ birds were seen in the vicinity of Little Hot Creek off of the Owens River Rd. A northern harrier came in and flushed many of the birds while others seemed not to be too disturbed by this visitor. Birds could be seen coming and going from the hills between Antelope Spring Rd. and Owens River Rd. It was snowing and late morning/early afternoon when this group was seen. An hour later while driving in these same hills a group of birds was flushed (picture of area below). Finally, our remaining male has been busy moving around. The other Long Valley male has been moving around quite a bit this last month. He recently was off the Whitmore Tubs Rd., then found in the hills NE of the Hot Creek Hatchery, then was next tracked between Lake Crowley and 395 near the south landing. Most recently he was tracked in the vicinity of the Wild Willy's hot spring.

Jackass: 5 hens
Four of our hens since early September have been consistently found in the hills in-between Fourth of July and Jack Ass Springs.The hen not with this group has not been heard from since 11/6. Before she went missing however we had been tracking her down near Desert Creek. Since this hen had spent some time near Lobdell Lake she may be in this area again.

Fales: 1 hen
The one hen we’ve been tracking since April has stayed entirely in the Burcham Flat area.

Bodie: 5 males, 14 hens
Two hens at Bodie have been recently missing. One of these birds was caught at Bridgeport Canyon and last tracked near Conway Summit. The other bird was caught at Big Flat and was last tracked in the area of capture. Some of our recently marked birds in Bodie have made some interesting movements. An adult hen which was caught at Big Flat on 11/21 moved to Dry Lakes Plateau by 11/30. Between 11/24 and 12/9 one of the juvenile hens caught near Mt Biedeman moved to the Big Flat area. Around 11/5 the hen caught at Conway Summit in April began moving (from the ridge top near Dynamo Pond where she had been all summer), towards Mt. Biedeman where she has been since 11/11.Between 11/5 and 11/9 one of the adult males caught last March at Bridgeport Canyon made the return trip to the canyon from West of 395 near Green Creek Rd. This bird spent most of the summer in the Bridgeport Valley near the area where Green and Summers Creeks meet. The other adult male caught in the same area the very same evening made his way from the Robinson Creek area in the Bridgeport Valley (where he spent all summer) to end up in the vicinity of Sinnamon Meadow. This entire movement occurred between 10/31 and 11/10.

Parker: 2 males, 1 hen
The hen marked by Tim last December was recovered on 12/11/2003. What remained of the bird were a few flight feathers and a small amount of contour feathers. This bird moved west of 395 near the old burn between 11/7 and 11/10. Then between 11/30 and 12/3 moved back to the meadow area where she had been all summer. Then by 12/8 had moved again towards the craters on east side of 395 where she remained until we found her remains. Between 11/3 and11/7 the juvenile male moved over to the east side of 395 towards the Mono Craters near the old burn area and has been in this area ever since. Between 11/3 and 11/7 our other hen had also moved to the east side of 395. Then, between 11/20 and 11/30 she moved back over to the West side of the highway and then returned to the east side by 12/4. The adult male has been for the most part in the hills in between Parker Creek and Grant Lake. This bird thus far has made no major movements. The movement patterns by the two hens correlates with the snow coming and covering up the foraging areas near Parker Creek. Then again with the snow melting almost completely, and then coming in again to recover the Parker Creek area.

Long Valley: 2 males, 14 hens
Nothing extraordinary has been happening in Long Valley. A transmitter came off of one of the juvenile males. The hen who crossed to the west of 395 near the wastewater treatment pond moved back towards the airport in early November and has recently been tracked off of the Whitmore Tubs Rd. The birds that had been in the vicinity where the power line crosses the meadow are no longer there; in fact none of our marked birds are in this area. The birds in the Long Valley area seem to be shuffling around the area and not sticking to any one spot in particular. Note though during the late summer and early fall they had a strong affinity to stay with the same group of marked birds and within the same areas. The “shuffling” activity seems to have begun in early November.