Sharptails… Minnesota’s brushland grouse

The sharp-tailed grouse is native to Minnesota. Once distributed state-wide in open grass-brush areas, it is now concentrated primarily in the northwestern and east-central parts of the state where some suitable habitat remains. Sharptails inhabit open areas that are too brushy for prairie chickens, but too open for ruffed grouse. That’s why its called the "in between bird." Its main foods are the buds and twig ends of birch, willow, and aspen, various fruits and berries, and small grains such as oats, buckwheat, and barley.

Behavior

Male sharptails have a unique courtship behavior, called "dancing."

During spring, several males congregate on traditional dancing grounds (called "leks") which usually are open, slightly raised area in a larger grass-brushland.

Male sharptails establish small territories, and court females by hooting, chuckling, cooing, and foot stomping. During May to mid-June, 8-14 chicks hatch from a nest usually located under a shrub. Chicks feed on a diet of small insects during the summer, before switching to a bud and seed diet in autumn.

Hunting and observation

The sharptail is a sporty game bird, which provides thousands of hours of recreation annually. Once the third-ranked resident upland game bird in Minnesota (behind ruffed grouse and pheasant), its populations have declined so that harvests of Hungarian partridge and spruce grouse now exceed those of sharptails. In 1949, over 150,000 sharptails were harvested. Since then, populations have gradually declined, and about 50,000 sharptails were taken annually in the late 1970’s. Since then, from 5,000-20,000 have been harvested each year. Non-hunting recreation is derived by viewing and photographing displaying males on dancing grounds in spring, from observation blinds placed on leks.

Habitat and management

Due to extensive habitat loss, sharptail populations have declined drastically since the 1940’s. Extensive land clearing converted the open brushand to agriculture. Plant succession claimed other vast open areas. Due to efficient wildfire suppression and lack of prescribed burning, the old fields grew to brush, and the brush either became old and unproductive, or grew to forest of generally low commercial value. Other habitat was converted either to conifer plantations (which are generally unacceptable to sharptails), or to commercial wild rice paddies.

Sharptails require large (about one square mile or larger) open area of grass and brush. They will also inhabit a complex of smaller open areas, with some deciduous trees, but the landscape must be generally open in nature. But, with the exception of some stunted black spruce and tamarack, sharptails are totally intolerant of coniferous trees.

These large open areas are also excellent for deer, moose, furbearers, and several unique non-game birds, such as the sandhill crane, short-eared owl, northern shrike, and yellow rail.

These open, grassy, brushland habitats can easily be managed with prescribed fire (which benefits many game and non-game species). Where prescribed fire is not feasible to control succession, other effective management techniques include dozing, hand cutting, and selective herbicide treatment of over-mature brush. Existing habitat can be preserved by reducing land clearing for agriculture, refraining from planting conifers and hybrid poplars in sharptail areas, and regulating commercial rice paddy leases. Consult your local DNR Wildlife Manager on how to manage your land for sharptails and other open land species.

The future

Without proper funding and aggressive management of open brushlands, habitat will continue to diminish due to succession, land clearing, and conversion to tree plantations and rice paddies. Management of habitat, and not a hunting season closure, is the answer to wildlife abundance. It is estimated that, with proper management, 50,000 sharptails could be harvested annually. Cooperation between land owners, wildlife managers, and foresters will provide habitat management that will ensure the sharptail’s place as an important native game bird in Minnesota’s future.