Stories in North Dakota

April Nature Notes

April brings the season's first wildflowers and spectacular courtship displays!

pasqueflowers in bloom.
Pasqueflowers Blooming pasqueflower at the Glacial Ridge Project for prairie and wetland restoration in northwestern Minnesota. © Christine Hura/TNC

Winter’s cold is ending come April and even if there may be sudden snow, early wildflowers and courting birds reveal that spring is on the way!

A sure sign of spring—and fascinating to watch—are the courting displays of sharp-tailed grouse. These chicken-like birds gather at a lek, a patch of ground where males compete for the attention of hens by performing a dance display at dawn. Dancing grouse spread their wings, lower their heads, and raise the short bright yellow feathers above their eyes. 

a sharp-tailed grouse mating display (profile).
Inflated Air Sacs When sharpies are in their mating dance display, their purple air sacs inflate which are extensions of the esophagus. © Richard Hamilton Smith
two sharp-tailed grouse, mating display (from behind).
Shaking Tail Feathers One of the sharp-tailed grouse's notable features is their pointed tail feathers, which slightly fan out during their ritual mating dance. © Chris Helzer

The tail is also raised and spread like a fan. The birds then rush forward or turn in tight circles, rapidly stamping their feet and rattling their tail feathers. The males inflate and deflate prominent purple neck sacs, cooing and cackling. They also fight—within the lek, each bird has a small territory and those spots are hotly contested as hens may prefer males in some locations over others.

The birds’ performance typically lasts three to four hours and is best observed from a blind. Blinds can be reserved at several locations at no cost. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department typically has an observation blind at Lonetree Wildlife Management Area southwest of Harvey. Blinds are also often available at these National Wildlife Refuges:

  • Lostwood
  • Long Lake
  • Upper Souris
  • Des Lacs
  • Arrowwood
  • J. Clark Salyer
sharp-tailed grouse mating display.
Mating Dance Sharp-tail grouse on a lek at TNC's Cross Ranch in North Dakota. © Richard Hamilton Smith

Grouse also can be watched from the road at The Nature Conservancy’s Davis Ranch and a blind is available at Cross Ranch (call 701-794-8741 to reserve, and be prepared for a muddy vehicle trail and a quarter-mile walk to access).

Dress warmly, and enter your blind before sunrise so the birds won’t see you. It’s best to visit the blind the day before so you’ll know your way to it in the dark. You will be rewarded with a front-row seat for watching dancing grouse.

Courting grouse are not the only early signs of spring in North Dakota’s grasslands. Prairie crocus or pasqueflower (so-named because it blooms around Eastertime), thrives on prairies with gravelly and sandy soils. 

pasqueflowers in bloom.
pasqueflowers Blooming pasqueflowers at Makoe Washte Prairie in South Dakota. © Bob Bork

One location to search for pasqueflowers is The Nature Conservancy's Pigeon Point Preserve in eastern North Dakota. Aldo Leopold, on the necessity of wild things, wrote in A Sand County Almanac that “…the chance to find a pasqueflower is a right as inalienable as free speech.”

Find a pasqueflower and know unquestionably that spring has arrived on the prairie!