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Stuart Elementary CGC Sage Grouse Project - Page 3 

	Excerpts from Mrs. Jones' Class

Neicho Arave -  Sage Grouse is the common name for species of grouse found in the deserts of the western United States.  The Sage Grouse inhabits arid open plains and rocky mesas where sagebrush is the dominant plant. 

Darby Cowley - There used to be millions of sage grouse before people moved into the Western United States.  Now there are only about 200,000.  Their habitat is getting smaller and smaller because of range fires, farming, and livestock grazing. 

Austin Mohler - The sage grouse is the second largest bird in North America.  It has white feathers on its neck and sharp feathers on its tail.  Its feathers are gray. 

Kimberli Haroldsen -  The male measures 67 to 77 inches tall.  It has white feathers on its neck.  The Sage Grouse has sharp tail feathers.  The colors of the feathers are yellow and gray.  They have two bald patches on their neck that puff up when they’re courting.  They have black eyes. 

Nick Nelson - A male Sage Grouse fans its tail in a full display as it begins a dance.  And he might get a hen.  The birds come to the same place every year.  They’re large, round-winged, ground-dwelling, chicken-like birds.  They eat sagebrush, flowers, seeds, and insects.

Shayleigh Powell - A Sage Grouse is the second largest bird in North America.  It has white feathers and a long neck.  The Sage Grouse has two bald spots on its neck.  It pumps them up to attract the female hen.  Its tail is pointy.

Sarah Reid -  Only 40 years ago hunters took them by the dozens. They are now disappearing.  The early settlers compared them to passenger pigeons.  In 1980 Sage Grouse populations have dropped 45 to 85 percent.  The birds decline is a sign the whole landscape is suffering.  In winter, the birds need tall sagebrush for food and cover.  In spring the females need tall grass and small green plants, to feed and protect their babies.  In summer they need wet meadows to eat insects from.  To find what they need they may cover as much as 800 miles.  The Sage Grouse is headed for disaster.

Alexander Harker
Mrs. Edward's class

Edgar Chavez- Sage Grouse are the second largest bird.  Turkeys are bigger.  They have sharp feathers on their tails. They have white feathers on their necks.  When Sage Grouse court, they make noises.            Sage Grouse need sagebrush to eat. Young Sage Grouse eat beetles, ants, and other things.  Their enemies are fox, hawks, skunks, and coyotes.  They need snow and rain to live. They show off to get the attention of the hens.  They look at each other until one chicken out.  Sometimes they fight.  Sage Grouse are losing their habitat.  They need sagebrush in the desert to survive.          

Nathan Weeks – Sage Grouse look like chickens, only sage grouse eat sagebrush.  Courtship is where the male acts like peacock.  We are trying to save them because they are losing their habitats.  Baby sage grouse eat ants and beetles.  Adult Sage Grouse eat sagebrush.

Whitney Kate Curnutt – What is endangered?  Sage Grouse are.  Sage Grouse are beautiful birds.  They are the second largest bird in North America.  The turkey is the largest.  Sage Grouse eat sagebrush.  Their young eat ants and beetles. You can find Sage Grouse in Southern Canada, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and other places.  Their enemies are foxes, skunks, and other animals.  Their young grow into adults fast.  In fact, they grow into grownups by September.  They need sagebrush to live.  Now eighty percent of Sage Grouse are gone.

Kayloni Holm – A Sage Grouse looks kind of like a turkey.  The white feathers on its chest puffs up to attract a mate.  It’s called courting.  The main color is gray.  They have sharp tail feathers.  It’s the second largest bird in North America.  The sage grouse needs rain and snow to live.  Their enemies are hawks, skunks, foxes, coyotes and badgers.  They need a habitat of sagebrush for a shelter.  When they mate their chicks grow quickly.  In September they look like adults.  The are so pretty.

Justin Nelson –  Sage Grouse fan with their feathers.  They puff up two bare spots on their neck and it release it with a lot of noise.  You can hear it half a mile away.  The male shows off in front of a female sage grouse.  Sage Grouse need rain and snow.  They also need a lot of sagebrush.  We don’t want to destroy sagebrush.  They can die if we destroy sagebrush.  We can do better than this.  These are amazing birds and we have to help them now!  They helped us so we have to help them.

Lupe Leon – Have you ever seen a sage grouse.  They are almost extinct!  When the sagebrush leaves they will be extinct, so we will have to do better than this!  You may think this is hard.  Just think that you are babysitting and you have to take care of them.  If you have not seen a sage grouse this is where they live and what they look like.  They live in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Idaho and other places with deserts and sagebrush.  Now you are probably wondering what they look like.  Big!  And I mean big with white feathers on their necks and sharp tails.

Brianna Johnson – They are the second largest bird in North America.  They have a sharp tail that sticks up.  They have a white neck.  The male has bare spots on his neck that puff up when strutting, and he fans the tail feathers to attract females.  They puff up and release the sacks with noise.  The young eat ants and beetles while the adults eat sagebrush.  They live in deserts of Idaho, Montana, Colorado, California, Nevada, and Utah.  Their enemies are hawks, skunks, foxes, and coyotes.  The sage grouse are becoming extinct because they are losing their habitat.

Dusty Ballord – Scientific and common names are Centrocercus urophasianus and Greater Sage Grouse.  Sage Grouse live on prairies and mountain foothills from southern Saskatchewan to Colorado.  They are herbivores.  Sage Grouse reproduce slowly.  Some populations of Sage Grouse are not very big.  Sage Grouse are sage-steppe grassland “obligates.”  We are saving them because if they didn’t eat the sagebrush it would overflow.

Richelle Cates – The sage grouse are large birds.  The male puffs up his chest and shakes up and down to look for a wife to lay his eggs.  Hens are 4 lbs.  They both look alike.  They are brown and gray.  They have cool feathers.  They live in sagebrush.  They live in the western USA.  In the fall they eat the sagebrush leaves.  The rest of the year they eat other plants and bugs.  They hide from the hunters in the sagebrush. 

Cameron Jorgensen – The Sage Grouse is a symbol of our desert.  During mating season, male Sage Grouse gather on leks or special display areas.  While they are there, they strut and display their plumage to attract a mate.  The female lays six to nine eggs in a depression in the ground lined with grass.  The nest is usually under a brush or other cover.  The female incubates and cares for the chicks.  The chicks hatch in about three weeks and feed themselves soon after hatching.  They eat insects for their first few weeks, but soon move on to weeds, grasses and sagebrush.  The chicks fledge in about a week.  The Sage Grouse doesn’t have a muscular gizzard with grit in it and they can’t digest hard foods like seeds.

Alexandra Moreno – The Sage Grouse is the second biggest bird in North America.  It has a sharp tail and its color of feathers is gray.  Young Sage Grouse eat ants and beetles.  Big Sage Grouse eat berries in some American deserts.  They use some sagebrush for habitat and for shelter, too.  They need and rain and snow.  They attract their mate too. They puff up two bare spots on their necks and when they release it makes a weird noise.

Jordan Jensen
Mrs. Edward's class

Luis Romero – Sage Grouse have white spots on their necks.  They are the second largest bird in North America.  Their feathers are gray.  They have sharp feathers.  They have patches on their necks that puff up when courting.  Baby Sage Grouse are called chicks.  They eat ants and beetles.  An adult sage grouse eats sagebrush. 

Eric Kelley – The Sage Grouse look like a bird with feathers.  Sage grouse live by eating sagebrush.  They eat bugs.  Courting is when they puff up to attract a hen.  Let’s all try to save the sagebrush.

Corey W. – The Sage Grouse is one of several kinds of grouse.  They are sometimes called prairie chicks.  They fill air in their lungs.  They lift up their feathers to show off to the females.  Sage grouse eat ants and beetles.  They eat sagebrush.  They live in the west.  In the winter the whole group, which about 30 or 40, go to the feeding grounds.  Females are called hens.  These are cool animals.