For more information, see the Fish and Wildlife Service’s website on Gunnison Sage-Grouse. They need to fill their crops – the food storage sack in their throat — full of leaves every day. Each year, fields of sage turn into cropland, decimating the most vital food and cover source for sage grouse. More than one person told us we were masochists. Sage Grouse and Human Interaction. While young, they feed on ants, grasshoppers, spiders, beetles, and more. The Gunnison sage-grouse is a species of sage-grouse found south of the Colorado River in Colorado and Utah. They eat soft plants, primarily big sagebrush. Sage grouse are herbivores. Its reach is sagebrush nation in the western US and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. It nests on the ground among the sage, and the leaves of this plant are its staple diet in winter. They inflate bulbous yellow air sacs and thrust with their heads to produce weird pops and whistles. Sage grouse eat 100 percent sagebrush leaves in the winter. Colorado is home to two species of sage-grouse the Gunnison sage-grouse, and the Greater sage-grouse. Dozens of male Greater Sage-Grouse puff their chests and fan their starburst tails like avant-garde turkeys. During the winter, greater sage grouse feed almost exclusively … They eat leaves, flowers, buds, and other soft plant parts. The greater (northern) sage grouse is the most common grouse species in Nevada and is found throughout the west. Greater sage grouse will also use edges of wheat and alfalfa fields near shrubsteppe habitat. The more prominent sage-grouse, otherwise called the sagehen, is the biggest grouse (a kind of bird) in North America. More grouse, more remote. Sagebrush, grasses, “forbs” (non-woody flowering plants), and insects comprise the annual diet of sage grouse. Humans have hunted this grouse species for many years, and recently birdwatchers have also taken interest in the sage grouse. Throughout their lives, sage grouse are found in or near dense stands of sagebrush. Sage grouse gather around small holes to eat dirt Monday, Feb. 9, 2015 near Pinedale. Big sagebrush is essential to the lives of sage grouse. The current rangewide population is estimated at 5,000 birds across the eight population areas. How do sage grouse live? It is currently protected as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.. However, due to diminishing habitat of slow growing sagebrush due to development, fire, invasive weeds and other factors, an effort is being made to list the sage grouse as an endangered species. Female birds nest on the ground under the shrub and seek cover from predators and weather beneath it. This can prove to be their Achille’s heel. I said I needed to do this, to prove that I belong in that backcountry again without getting hurt. Since they can only eat softer foods, sage grouse like leafy greens, dandelions, and insects. Another year passed and Hubbie decided to accept a Masters position studying the effects of a power transmission line on greater sage-grouse in Eastern Nevada. In 2014, the Gunnison sage-grouse was listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Their crop is a little larger than a golf ball when it’s full. Each spring, at dawn, the sagebrush country of western North America fills with a strange burbling sound and an even stranger sight. Second, the birds need to be relatively undisturbed. The Sage Grouse is best known for the spectacular courtship displays of the males: Large numbers (up to 70 or more) will gather in spring on traditional dancing grounds and strut with Resources for Sage-Grouse Management Quick facts. So what do sage grouse actually eat? It was known as essentially the savvy grouse until the Gunnison sage-grouse was perceived as a different animal groups in 2000. In winter months, sage grouse rely on sagebrush. 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