The Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge between Eagle Lake and Sealy, Texas is having its 13th annual Attwaters Prairie Chicken Festival on April 14-15. The male Attwaters prairie chicken is known for its distinctive courtship dance. The festival is a great opportunity for the public to come out and see the dance for themselves.
Several activities are planned including prairie chicken viewing tours in which the public has a fairly good opportunity to see the birds conduct their courtship displays in their natural habitat. Those wanting to catch a glimpse of the elusive Attwaters need to plan to arrive at refuge Headquarters before 7:00 am. There will be several other tours including refuge van tour, bird watching, and native plant tours. All tours depart from the refuge headquarters. Food and water will be available for purchase.
The Attwaters prairie chicken is not really a chicken, but a grouse that is unique to Texass gulf coastal prairie region. Unfortunately, it is also critically endangered, mainly due to environmental changes such as significant habitat loss due to urbanization, cultivation, and brush invasion. There are only two wild Attwaters prairie chicken populations remaining. One is located at the Nature Conservancys Texas City Prairie Preserve. The other is located at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, where the festival is being held.
Short grass areas (called "booming grounds" or leks) on the refuge become a frenzy of activity during the prairie chickens breeding season which starts in February and continues through mid-May. Holding their tails erect and wings drooped, the males inflate the yellow air sacs on their necks creating a loud "boom." Then, they drop their heads to deflate the sacs with a low sounding "whur-ru-rrr" while stomping their feet extremely fast. The males face off and jump and charge each other, vying for the females and defending their territories on the booming grounds. Once the female chooses and breeds with a male, she nests in a clump of bunchgrass such as little bluestem. If her nest is destroyed early in the season, the hen returns to mate again.
Prescribed burns and grazing herds of cattle and bison help maintain the historical grasslands on the refuge. Refuge staff also plant small food plots to ensure the prairie chickens have a diversity of foods from which to choose from. Soybeans provide shelter and an abundant source of insects for chicks during the summer months.
The Attwaters Prairie Chicken Festival is also a great opportunity for nature enthusiasts to enjoy the many flowering plants that blanket the refuge this time of year.
The Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge is located south of I-10 between San Antonio and Houston. In Sealy, from I-10 take exit #720, go south one mile on Highway 36, then right on FM3013 for ten miles. From Eagle Lake, take FM3013 northeast for six and one-half miles.
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/attwater
http://www.fws.gov.
