Prairie Chicken Lek Survey

Capstone Project report

By Jim Brady

The alarm goes off at 3:15 and with a shower and travel mug of coffee, I’m headed north to be at Dunn Ranch by 6:15 am. I am participating in a Prairie Chicken Lek Survey. This cooperative work between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Missouri Department of Conservation and The Nature Conservancy (Dunn Ranch) is to monitor the restoration effort of, and provide data on habitat requirements for, the Greater Prairie-chicken.

The survey period is between March 20 and April 20. Two types of survey methods are used; a route-based survey driving between numerous known or potential leks, and a blitz-style survey when monitors one lek site for an extended period of time. The blitz-style survey is more labor intense as each lek requires at least one monitor. The area around Dunn Ranch had a total of 11 leks to be checked. 

The data had to be collected from 30 minutes before to 2 hours past sunrise. With the route-based survey, each lek was scanned for 5 minutes. For the blitz-style survey, each lek is monitored for a minimum of 20 minutes. The added staffing required for the blitz was provided by college students from Missouri. Data collected consisted of date and time, GPS location of site, the number of birds seen or heard, male or female, wind speed, wind direction, temperature, cloud cover, and habitat. Data was provided to the Boone Wildlife Research Station in Iowa for analysis. 

During the late ninetieth century, Greater Prairie-chickens were on of the most abundant gamebird in southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Market hunters and locals regularly hunted them for food and profit. Taking 25 to 50 birds a day was common with some market hunters taking up to 250 per day. With hunting and a change in agricultural land use, prairie chickens saw a significant decline.  Today, according to the MDC, there are estimated to be fewer than 100 birds in Missouri spread between two sites. One centered around Dunn Ranch and the other in west-central Missouri.

A route-based survey was held on April 3, with 5 birds reported, 3 males and 2 females. On April 14, a blitz-style survey was conducted with no birds reported although one was sited after the survey was complete at Pawnee Prairie.  On April 16, a second route-based survey resulted in one male being reported. During the surveys I was able to identify not only prairie chickens but 41 additional species of birds.

These ongoing surveys show a decline in the Greater Prairie-chicken population since the relocation effort by Iowa and Missouri in 2017. The data indicates a population of only about 20-30% of the initial counts from the start of the restoration. It is possible that population exist outside of the monitored locations but there have not been adequate resources to investigate. This is an interesting project and population numbers have shown the ability to rebound but more information is needed on conservation management for this now rare species.