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Tourists flock from around the world to see prairie chickens
McCOOK, Neb. — Visitors from across the U.S. and foreign countries will soon descend upon Red Willow County for the annual Prairie Chicken Dance tours that begin in March.
It’s a premier destination for serious birders, with registrations probably selling out as soon as it opens Feb. 1, estimated Carol Schlegel, director of the Red Willow County Visitor’s Bureau and coordinator of the Prairie Chicken Dance tours. Two other sites in Nebraska that offered viewings of prairie chicken mating rituals, in Calamus and Mullen, have closed this year.
“I’ve been fielding phone calls for about three months now, with some asking if the registrations will open at midnight,” Schlegel said of the demand for the tours. “I tell them to give it until 8 a.m.” Already there are four tour groups booked in advance, one a wildlife photography workshop from Illinois.
The success of the chicken dance tours has been growing since its inception in 2013 and a great way to promote tourism to the area, she said. That’s because Southwest Nebraska has the natural habitat for the bird in abundance and except for establishing the blinds, not a lot of money had to be expended. Southwest Nebraska has ideal conditions for birding as “it’s an economic generator that we didn’t have to construct or manipulate,” she said.
Demographics of serious birders show that they are mostly retired, college educated, with disposal income, she said. They have the time and money to travel and the mating dances of the greater prairie chicken is a huge draw to them. That’s because its one of those “bucket list” birds, that serious birders want to check off their list. “And we can offer them that opportunity,” Schlegel said.
As a growing tourist attraction, Schlegel said she typically has 120-130 tourists a year from the end of March through April. “It’s one of those things that the locals take for granted but visitors from far and wide descend upon McCook to view this one-of-a-kind sight,” she said.
For the most part elusive, the greater prairie chicken has been around Southwest Nebraska since the pioneer days. Schlegel said diary entries from homesteaders document that if not for the birds existence, the homesteaders would have starved. Unlike the Sandhill cranes that are migratory, the greater prairie chicken sticks around.
Despite their reticence for most of the year, that all changes in Spring, when the males come out and strut their stuff. Year after year, male birds gather on a lek, an area of patted down grass, to outperform each other in their quest for a hen. It’s been described as lots of fancy foot work, stare downs and leaps in the air. Males run at each other, orange air sacks bulging from the sides of their heads, feathers raised and wings flapping.
Registrations can be taken at prairiechickendancetours.com. They can also be found on Facebook. Tour package price is $100 that includes transportation and a breakfast. A mandatory orientation workshop is designed to optimize the viewing experience on the evening before the viewing. At the workshop, a naturalist gives a presentation on the greater prairie chicken, viewing blind etiquette and how the following morning’s tour will take place. Tours are early in the morning, so warm clothing is advised.
There is also a local birding challenge that challenges amateurs and serious birders alike to identify 50 birds, with those completing the forms earning a patch for the accomplishments.