Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Date of this Version
1955
Abstract
The 1955 spring prairie grouse census was conducted during the period March 30 to May 4. Census data were obtained by means of a survey of dancing and booming grounds on 18 automobile transects.
An average population density of 4.77 sharptailed grouse, and 0.71 prairie chickens per square mile was found. Comparable data for 1954 and 1955 indicate a 10 percent decline in the combined prairie and grouse population. The prairie chicken population declined considerably more than the sharptail population.
The extreme northern portion of the grouse range, Corson and Perkins Counties, experienced population gains of approximately 50 percent which did much to offset the population declines that occurred in many of the counties farther to the south.
The activity of prairie grouse on their dancing grounds followed a pattern similar to that of previous years. The number of males on dancing grounds reached a peak by April 1, and continued at a high level until late April. By early May, the number of males on the grounds had declined considerably.
Females began appearing on the dancing grounds somewhat earlier than in 1954, but did not appear in peak numbers until several days later than in 1954.
Comments
Published in Job Completion Report (1955) Project W-17-R-10, 12 pages.