I went to the American Physical Society (APS) spring conference in St. Louis this weekend to present results from my physics analysis. I left early Friday morning so that I could stop at the Prairie Ridge State Natural Area in Newton, IL where one of only two remaining flocks of Prairie Chickens remain in Illinois. From blinds setup near the booming lek, we observed the male Prairie Chickens do their very best to impress the females. It is towards the end of the mating season, and only one female showed up during the three hours we were observing, but males were numerous and determined.
Male Greater Prairie Chicken
Here is some video I took using my digiscoping setup. The mechanical clicking you hear during this video is from an SLR camera with a high speed frame rate used by another gentleman in the blind. I really came to appreciate the near silence of my digiscope. If you listen closely you can hear the low "booming" of the Prairie Chicken.
All images and video © 2008 Derek Strom
Male Greater Prairie Chicken
Here is some video I took using my digiscoping setup. The mechanical clicking you hear during this video is from an SLR camera with a high speed frame rate used by another gentleman in the blind. I really came to appreciate the near silence of my digiscope. If you listen closely you can hear the low "booming" of the Prairie Chicken.
All images and video © 2008 Derek Strom
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