Prairie Chickens in Central Wisconsin
11 April 2013
It was quite chilly (33F!) and incredibly windy. We got into the blind around 5:20am and the first sign of life was the song of a Horned Lark. The first two Prairie Chickens flew in to the edge of the clearing between 6:15-6:45. Five birds were on the lek, with at least 4 males dancing and strutting their stuff. Though the winds were whistling loudly over the blind, their weird booming-type call was easily heard. They stayed pretty far away. Soon after they started, it began raining and they retreated into the grasses and later flew off. We left the blind by 7:30. Totally worth waking up at 2:30am!
