MDC releases prairie chickens in northwest Missouri

Birds trapped in Nebraska are released to boost Harrison County flocks

Eagleville, Mo. – With a whirring of wings, the last of 100 greater prairie chickens released this spring at Dunn Ranch Prairie flew over the horizon and settled into native grassland. The bird, a hen, bore a small radio transmitter that will let biologists track it’s movements through nesting and brood rearing seasons. Translocating prairie chickens trapped in Nebraska is one component of the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC) program to restore this state-endangered species.

   MDC crews trapped the prairie chickens in western Nebraska where their populations are strong. The birds were transported to Missouri the day of their capture. Crews released them in Harrison County at The Nature Conservancy’s Dunn Ranch near leks, the places where the birds mingle and mate in spring. The releases are part of a two-state, public-private prairie conservation program in the Grand River Grasslands.

   “This went really well this spring,” said Kendall Coleman, MDC private lands conservationist. “We set out to get 100 birds, and now we’ve released our last one. We’re really pleased with how it’s gone.”

   The prairie chicken translocation program is a partnership between MDC, The Nature Conservancy, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Nebraska Game and Parks. MDC’s Pawnee Prairie Natural Area and the Conservancy’s Dunn Ranch in Harrison County are anchor points for the program. Trapped Nebraska birds have also been released across the state line in Iowa’s Kellerton Grasslands Bird Conservation Area. The birds were trapped at private ranches in Nebraska.

   “Our Department appreciates the hospitality and generosity ranchers showed in allowing our staff to work on their property,” said Max Alleger, MDC grassland bird coordinator.

   Prairie chickens are endangered in Missouri and Iowa due to habitat loss. The rich prairie soil was converted to crops or pastures with non-native grasses. Less than one percent of Missouri’s prairie remains and only in scattered parcels. Remnant prairie chickens declined sharply in numbers in recent decades due to habitat scarcity and poor weather conditions during nesting seasons. They were absent in Harrison County until birds released in Iowa in the early 1980s flew across the state line and began using historic leks. But harsh weather during nesting season dropped numbers sharply. So a translocation program began to boost numbers and add genetic diversity.

   In conjunction with releases, MDC manages public conservation lands to enhance all species of plants, insects, fish and wildlife native to prairies.

   “If you can provide quality food and cover for prairie chickens, you’re providing fairly good habitat for all of the species,” said Dave Hoover, MDC small game coordinator.

   The Department and conservation partners also work with private landowners in the Grand River Grasslands region to enhance habitat favorable for prairie chickens to nest and raise broods. A variety of native grasses and wildflowers kept in varying succession stages seems to be helping, along with favorable weather, Coleman said.

   “We’re seeing birds on more leks, the birds are more distributed,” he said. “I’m optimistic that we’re going to have a good nesting season.”

   MDC staff and partners plan in the coming weeks to do a count of males using the leks to get a firm idea of population trends. Hens released this spring were outfitted with radio transmitters, and tracking them will provide data on survival and nesting. Science-based management plays a key role in the prairie chicken program.

   For more information on prairie chicken programs in Missouri, visit http://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/greater-prairie-chicken.

MDC biologists manage habitat to help prairie chickens

Kansas City, Mo. – Hard rains and cool conditions in early summer are not optimal conditions for Missouri’s endangered prairie chickens to nest and raise broods. Unusually wet weather befell western Missouri this nesting season. What’s good for many native prairie grasses and wildflowers can be a hindrance to ground-nesting birds. But Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) biologists are hopeful that habitat improvements in recent years will help the iconic grassland grouse hold their numbers steady.

   Biologists have spotted some hens with young broods at the Dunn Ranch and Pawnee Prairie Conservation Area in Harrison County in northwest Missouri. The Nature Conservancy’s ranch and MDC’s Pawnee Prairie are the heart of a broad conservation focus area called the Grand River Grasslands. Given the weather, finding successful broods is encouraging and signals that the nesting season was not a bust, said Dave Hoover, wildlife management biologist.

   “The habitat conditions have improved in the last five years on public and private lands,” Hoover said. “More of the core conservation area lands are in better habitat for grassland birds. That has probably allowed the prairie chickens to handle the adverse weather conditions better than in previous years.”

   Missouri once had hundreds of thousands of prairie chickens on vast open grasslands and areas with a mix of scattered trees and prairie plants. Today, because of prairie habitat loss, less than 100 prairie chickens remain in two main flocks, plus a few scattered birds in areas that once had flocks. That number includes prairie chickens netted and translocated from Kansas and Nebraska to Missouri in restoration efforts.

   MDC biologists counted 40 prairie chickens on five different leks, or mating grounds, this spring on the Missouri side of the Grand River Grasslands. Part of the cooperative grassland effort is in adjacent Iowa. Also this spring, biologists released at Dunn Ranch 19 males and 20 female prairie chickens translocated from Nebraska. The 20 hens were given small radio collars, which assists biologists tracking birds to find nests and broods.

   Tracking prairie chickens with radio telemetry has helped biologists learn about the different types of habitat useful for prairie chickens and other ground nesting birds. They need grassy areas of boot-high vegetation for nesting in spring and areas of boot- to knee-high vegetation for brood rearing in late spring and summer. Hens with broods prefer a mixture of grasses and wildflowers that are open at ground level so chicks can move easily. Prairie chickens also favor feeding and loafing in these same areas where they can easily survey their surroundings but also duck into cover if predators appear.

   Biologists do not have radio collars on prairie chickens this year in the Upper Osage Grasslands in southwest Missouri. But they have used radio telemetry in past years to monitor hens translocated from Kansas to the Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie and the MDC’s Taberville Prairie Conservation Area, both north of El Dorado Springs, Mo.  The flocks appear to be holding steady at about 50 birds in that area based on spring lek surveys, said Max Alleger, MDC grassland coordinator.

   “We’ve kept our habitat in good shape,” Alleger said. “Our crew does a stellar job of prairie management. We feel like the translocation project successfully stabilized our population there.”

   Biologists won’t know how well prairie chickens have reproduced at Wah’Kon-Tah in a rainy summer until birds are counted on leks next spring. Predators and winter conditions also affect population numbers.

   In spring and early summer, the cold and wet conditions are a threat to newly hatched prairie chickens because they cannot self-regulate their body temperatures, said Tom Thompson, MDC resource scientist. Also some nest sites may be in low areas that flood. Bobwhite quail may attempt two or even three nests during summer, which helps hedge against chick mortality. But prairie chicken hens usually only go on nest once.

   “Prairie chickens are susceptible to everything, and everything eats them,” Thompson said.

   Conservation partnerships, especially with private landowners, have benefitted prairie chickens in the Grand River Grasslands and Upper Osage Grasslands. MDC offers private lands expertise and can connect property managers with cost share grants for practices that benefit livestock, water quality and wildlife.

   For information about prairie chickens on your property, visit http://on.mo.gov/1IqKVP8. That web page will also link to other information about prairie chickens in Missouri.

   Property owners in the Grand River Grasslands area seeking information about MDC programs can call 660-726-3746.  For MDC assistance in the Upper Osage Grasslands, call417-876-5792.

   A rainy summer is not all bad for grassland birds. The grasses and wildflowers that provide food and shelter for birds are having a banner year. Although growth that’s too dense inhibits movement by birds that feed and roost on the ground. Tools such as grazing, timely haying and prescribed burns can help manage grasslands to the benefit of birds and cattle. Grasslands birds have needed help from good habitat this summer.

   “In one period in May and June, out of 38 days 35 saw some rainfall,” Thompson said. “That’s where it gets really tough for ground-nesting birds to pull off broods."