Sharp-tailed grouse visit CSC campus

Photo courtesy of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

There are many animal species that can be found on Chadron State College’s campus including American robins, fox squirrels, common blackbirds, mule deer, Merriam’s turkeys and as of recent months, sharp-tailed grouse. 

The grouse were spotted near the Rangeland Complex by CSC professors Teresa Frink and Anthony Perlinski. The birds were seen passing through the campus during the early morning or late in the evening. 

According to Nebraska Game and Parks, sharp-tailed grouse are a species of ground nesting bird found in grassland and prairie ecosystems. They rely on shrubs for cover and nesting habitats. 

The grouse are also one of four bird species hunted in the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Upland Slam.

The birds are commonly found on agricultural lands especially hay fields during the winter and move to better covered areas to lay eggs and raise chicks. Improving shrub cover on campus could be done to increase populations of sharp-tailed grouse.

The Nebraska populations of the bird are found near the northern part of the state.

“Grouse need shrubs and cover to thrive,” Frink said. “They don’t like a whole lot of trees, so they like open habitats with some cover, so increasing shrubs would help us get more grouse on campus.” 

Sharp-tailed grouse are one of four grouse species found in Nebraska, the other three being the greater prairie chicken, sage grouse and ruffed grouse.  

Grouse species often struggle with competition from other ground nesting birds including local species ring-neck pheasants and Merriam’s turkeys. 

These species out-compete the smaller grouse species for nesting habitats and food resources. The sharp-tailed grouse population is one that struggles with excessive competition from other species. 

Sharp-tailed grouse are often unable to compete against larger species. With larger species out competing sharp-tailed grouse, the grouse tend to move to areas where there is less competition for resources.

“Grouse are pretty specialized in the habitats that they like,” Frink said. “It is really odd that we have turkeys here now too and really turkeys and grouse are really opposing to one another.” 

CSC campus was once a native grouse habitat but with fires and the destruction of habitat by humans has caused there to be little of the native habitat left. 

“Whatever we can do to restore the native landscape like putting in shrubs in C-hill and all the area around it would be great,” Frink said. “Efforts to remove smooth brome and to better promote native vegetation would be really good for insect production that would be good not just for pollinators but grouse too.”

Chadron State College’s C-hill and surrounding area have species of grasses like smooth brome that are invasive and drive out native vegetation. 

Native shrub species like sand sagebrush and native grass species can be added to Chadron State College ecosystem to improve populations of native species. 

“If we put more shrubs in it would help and it would bring up mule deer population too,” Frink said. “I think it would be splendid to have more species on campus other than just the generalist species like robins and rabbits.”