I will guide you in the dark as you drive your vehicle to the site where the birds dance. You will need to drive across rough ground on a private farm.

Just before reaching the site, I will ask you to cover the windows on the right (passenger) side of your vehicle with dark towels or other dark cloth material. By covering these windows, the grouse are less likely to be disturbed by your presence close to them on the dancing ground.

Once you arrive, you may open the windows on the left side of your vehicle and turn off the vehicle engine. You will need to wait about 30 minutes before it becomes light enough to see the birds.

Once it becomes light, you may watch the dances of the Sharp-tailed Grouse on the prairie grassland to the left of your vehicle. It is best if your passenger sits in the rear seat. Each dance lasts about 10 seconds. The birds will raise their tail, open their wings, expose purple skin on their breast and stomp the ground rapidly. It sounds like a machine gun.

Generally each male bird faces another male during each dance. After each dance, the 2 grouse sit down and face each other in a staring contest. Occasionally, there might be a fight between male birds.

We will wait on the site for roughly 4 hours until the birds leave on their own. We normally depart the site between 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM.