{"id":32939,"date":"2015-11-19T05:36:53","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T12:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=32939"},"modified":"2025-11-25T06:41:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:41:37","slug":"greater-sage-grouse-wayne-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/19\/greater-sage-grouse-wayne-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Sage-Grouse in Wayne County, Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"FemaleFemale Greater Sage-Grouse at sunrise – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/640, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the snow has started to fall in the high country of Utah I have started thinking about Greater Sage-Grouse again.<\/p>\n

Part of thinking about them is because I think of how hard they have to work to survive the harsh winters and the other part is because of the human-caused dangers they are facing that threaten their survival.<\/p>\n

Oil exploration, wells, tar sands, and the roads that cut through the sagebrush steppe are all problems for these Greater Sage-Grouse.<\/p>\n

If some Utah politicians had their way much of the wild land in this state would be sold or leased for oil & gas exploration and production regardless of what the people want and what our future needs.<\/p>\n

For what? Money, greed, and the opportunity to make the pockets of the rich even fatter.<\/p>\n

\"MaleMale Greater Sage-Grouse on a lek in Utah – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/1250, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

But that means taking away public lands from the citizens of this country. Putting up fences, loud machinery and roads that dissect the sagebrush steppe where trucks rumble by 24 hours a day.<\/p>\n

And it isn’t just the grouse that are under pressure… it is all of the birds and animals that call the sagebrush sea home.<\/p>\n

\"SparringSparring male Greater Sage-Grouse – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

During the winter the Greater Sage Grouse struggle to survive in deep snow by feeding on the exposed sagebrush. In the spring, those who survive will dance, display, spar, and mate to continue the existence of their species.<\/p>\n

I watched a movie earlier this year produced by PBS called The Sagebrush Sea<\/span><\/a> and I highly recommend viewing it if you haven’t already. (As I write this PBS is having web site issues, please check back later to view it). The photography and videography by Gerrit Vyn is outstanding.<\/p>\n

I’m in the sagebrush steppe quite often here in Utah to photograph the birds, wildlife, and scenery I see and love there. It is critically important for all of us to protect and preserve it for future generations of birds, animals and people.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

More of my Greater Sage-Grouse images<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the snow has started to fall in the high country of Utah I have started thinking about Greater Sage-Grouse again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":133739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,2152,1254,2319,26,2486],"tags":[4004,2320,3535,9208,779,4070,4556,3492,4359,4062,4789,1359,401],"class_list":["post-32939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-conservation","category-environment-wildlife-ethics","category-greater-sage-grouse","category-utah","category-wayne-county","tag-adult","tag-centrocercus-urophasianus","tag-courtship-behavior","tag-courtship-displays","tag-displaying","tag-female","tag-greater-sage-grouse","tag-grouse","tag-hen","tag-male","tag-sage-grouse","tag-sparring","tag-upland-game-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/greater-sage-grouse-males-mia-mcpherson-1057.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-8zh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51282,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/18\/before-dawn-breaks-the-courtship-displays-begin-on-greater-sage-grouse-leks\/","url_meta":{"origin":32939,"position":0},"title":"Before Dawn Breaks The Courtship Displays Begin On Greater Sage-Grouse Leks","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Each year across the western states Greater Sage-Grouse begin to fly into leks on the sagebrush steppe during late winter and early spring to perform their fascinating courtship displays well before the first sign of dawn.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Greater Sage-Grouse on a high sagebrush steppe, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-lek-male-mia-mcpherson-1408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-lek-male-mia-mcpherson-1408.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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2020","format":false,"excerpt":"March is a time when my mind wanders to windswept, high country sagebrush steppes where Greater-Sage Grouse will dance, fight and court on their leks as they have done for eons.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Displaying Greater-Sage Grouse males, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-males-fighting-mia-mcpherson-8357.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-males-fighting-mia-mcpherson-8357.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-males-fighting-mia-mcpherson-8357.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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McPherson","date":"February 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One might ask what do Greater Sage-Grouse have to do with our public lands and the answer would be that more than half of all remaining habit for these large upland game birds is on our public lands in the Western U.S..","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Here is your country - Greater Sage-Grouse on a Lek, Wayne County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-roosevelt-mia-mcpherson-0369.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/greater-sage-grouse-roosevelt-mia-mcpherson-0369.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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