Native North Dakota Bird Really Knows How To Dance

The Sharp-tailed Grouse is a native upland bird that is well-established across the state of North Dakota.

Each spring during the mating season for these birds, male Sharp-tailed Grouse put on a spectacle for all of us to enjoy.  They "dance" to impress their potential mate.  More on this yearly ritual in just a moment.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse population in North Dakota is currently enjoying an up-cycle and is considered fairly numerous across the state.

You will often find Sharp-tailed Grouse in pastures with light grass across the state.  Unlike, pheasants, Sharp-tails prefer light cover.  This can make them a challenge for hunters.  They are also very wary (especially older birds) and are more difficult to hunt as the season goes on.

The Sharp-tailed Grouse is one of North America's spectacular dancing grouse species. 

You will find "sharpies", as they are often called by hunters, gathering at open display grounds known as "leks" on spring mornings.  Oftentimes, they return to these same dancing grounds every spring.

Male Sharp-tails "dance" to impress (you guessed it) females during courtship.  Kind of like what the guys do in the bars all across North Dakota every weekend.  Here's a video of one of these North Dakota males doing its thing (not in a bar).

And this is exactly what happened at a pasture just south of Menoken, North Dakota recently.

Julie Hornbacher, who's been taking wildlife photos for years, and really has a natural talent for it.  All of her photos are taken on her family's ranch, and she considers her wildlife photography a hobby (heck of a hobby).  A nice distraction from her family's real job, cattle ranching.

I was fortunate enough to run across some of Julie's spectacular "dancing" Sharp-tail photos on social media recently, and she was kind enough to let me share them with you.  Enjoy.