Viewing Sharptail Grouse on the Lek.

Spring is in the air and so is anything that can be lifted by 30 mile per hour winds. North Dakota is wonderful. 
This spring I finally made it to the sharptail grouse viewing blind managed by the Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge.  I have been there three times and hope to get there one more time this week.  If you have never been there I suggest going.  Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Refuge.  Refuge information here   http://www.fws.gov/longlake/ 

I will offer a few tips from my trips to the blind.

• Arrive at least 45 minutes before sunrise. The Refuge staff recommend 30 minutes, but I like to be there at least 45 minutes early.
• Locate the blind during daylight hours before you try to find it in the dark.
• Bring a small flashlight and use it sparingly.
• Bring a pad to sit on.  There are two lightly padded folding chairs in the blind but remember you will be sitting for a few hours.
• Bring something that will also record audio/video.  The sounds the birds make are interesting also. I shot video before it was light enough to shoot stills with my DSLR.
• Bring a tripod. There will be lots of opportunity to shoot images and your arms will get tired if you are holding your camera all the time. 
• Waterproof footwear. There are a couple low areas (ditch and very small "wetland" area) that had water in them when I went. The ditch was fairly obvious, the small wetland wasn't. Fortunately I found the wetland during daylight hours on my way out from the blind. There may also be frost or dew on the long grass that will dampen your feet and shins. Avoid wet feet.
• Pack out whatever you pack in.

The low light level at sunrise requires shooting at a high ISO, wide aperture, and a long but manageable shutter speed. To avoid fumbling around with your camera in the dark, adjust your settings the night before.  For my first images of the day, I started with an ISO of 2000 and lowered it as light allowed.  For some of these early shots I was able to get by at an aperture of f/8. I was shooting in shutter priority at the fastest speeds I could manage. Some of these early morning shutter speeds were a second or more. (The birds occasionally sit still.) This is where a tripod is an essential tool. These early morning (just before sunrise until about 15 minutes after sunrise) shots really tax your ability to gather enough light.

When the sunlight actually strikes the lek, you can start to move your ISO back down. It seemed like every 2 minutes after the sun had risen I was able to lower my ISO or stop down my aperture 1/3 to 1/2 stop.

This light is better anyway because it brings out the yellow "eyelashes" and purple air sacs on the birds.

The first first image in the article was after the sunlight had hit the lek. This next image was before the sun had risen.  The lighting is flat, and I had to bring up the colors in Lightroom. On my third trip, when the light was like this, I shot video.

The birds are very active right about sunrise. You may hear the birds before you can see them and all of the sudden the grouse seem to pop out of the ground and they are everywhere. The action will slow down when the birds start to pair off. They will squat down and stare at each other.

If the birds get spooked and flush, just hang tight for a few minutes and they will come back.

Hopefully this will help you view and photograph these avian ballerinas.

Good luck and best light.

Dana Middleton