Up Close and Personal with Prairie-Chickens

What is it about overnight field trips? It seems like every one presents an unique set of challenges and this one was no exception.

Accident by Matthew Cvetas

It started with the weather. Saturday morning, a nasty winter snow storm rolled into the Champaign area blocking our path to our destination. Within hours, the storm deposited a sheet of ice on I-57 and the number of accidents quickly began to pile up. Within a 50 mile band or so, traffic slowed to a 20 mph crawl. Along the way, we counted 30 disabled cars and seven semis! Luckily, we all made it safely through the storm.

Smith’s Longspur by Ben Sanders

Despite the weather, most of our group were able to do a little birding prior to arriving in Effingham, where we spent the night. Oliver Burrus, Ben Sanders, and Simon Tolzmann were passing agriculture fields when they noticed a flock of birds with white outer tail feathers flying around and then landing by the road. They stopped to find 30 Smith’s Longspurs, a species that is sometimes difficult to find and often harder to observe. On the return trip, more of our party were able to observe these migrants in the same location.

In the Blinds by Matthew Cvetas

4 am came too quickly. The next morning, we met in the lobby of the hotel and then made the 45 minute drive to the Prairie Ridge State Natural Area for the main event. We trudged about a half mile in the dark through ankle deep water in spots to blinds adjacent to a lek or “booming grounds” that would soon host displaying Greater Prairie-Chickens. We waited with great anticipation for the males to arrive and then by 6:15 am, all of a sudden, the birds flew in and landed directly in front of us!

Greater Prairie-Chicken by Matthew Cvetas

For the next two hours, we were treated to up close and personal views of males displaying. Often, two males would face each other and sit down. Then, all of a sudden they would jump at each other, sometimes a few feet in the air, and aggressively spar in an attempt to drive the other off. Males would stomp their feet quickly (the original chicken dance) and blow up their gaudy orange air sacks, which in turn produced a low frequency 3-syllable booming sound. It was great fun!

American White Pelicans by Matthew Cvetas

After warming up with hot chocolate and donuts, we thanked the biologists at the sanctuary for their hospitality and drove to our next destination, Newton Lake. There, we pulled up to the south dam, where a large group of American White Pelicans were loafing about on shore. Soon, a group took to the air as an immature Bald Eagle passed over. While at Newton Lake, we spotted a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk, Greater White-fronted Goose, Common Loon, Purple Martins, and a small group of Bonaparte’s Gulls.

Flooded Road by Ben Burrus

Leaving Newton Lake, we decided to take back roads to our final destination, Ballard Nature Center. It was a lovely drive with scenic views of wooded areas and rolling hills. This decision proved to be a bad choice in the end as the Little Wabash River had other plans! Blocked by a flooded road, we had to back track 20 minutes or more. Undeterred, we still made it without issue to Ballard, which was alive with birds in the brush and coming to the feeders around the nature center.

Carolina Chickadee by Matthew Cvetas

Around us, a parade of birds were foraging, singing, or coming into the feeders. Red-headed Woodpecker, American Gold and House Finches, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Fox, Song, White-throated, and White-crowned Sparrows, Eatern Towhee, Carolina Wren, and Tufted Titmouse were all found on the grounds. In the air, a Red-shouldered Hawk screamed at a Turkey Vulture. Surprisingly, a Greater Yellowlegs flew over followed by a flock of six Common Loons. Back at the feeders, a fan favorite was the industrious Carolina Chickadee.

After Ballard and lunch, we made one more brief stop at the Smith’s Longspur field in Mattoon before calling it quits. Needless to say, we will remember this amazing trip for a long time!