Avian Conservation and Ecology (Dec 2021)
Lek attendance and disturbance at viewing blinds in a small, declining Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) population
Abstract
Conservation agencies use viewing blinds at prairie grouse leks as an outreach tool to engage the public. However, in declining bird populations, disturbance at viewing blinds associated with observer arrivals and departures may exacerbate inconsistencies in lek attendance. We studied observer arrivals and departures at public viewing blinds placed at Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) lekking areas using trail cameras. We also conducted an experiment to simulate observers arriving late or leaving early from viewing blinds and compared Sharp-tailed Grouse attendance and return times at these treatment leks to the same leks when observers arrived in the dark and left late in the morning as a control. Observers at public blinds arrived later and left earlier than manager-recommended guidelines for utilizing blinds. In experiments, periods during which no birds were in attendance at leks were longer after observer arrivals later in the morning than at controls. However, the return times of returning birds were similar at leks disturbed early, late, and at controls, although fewer birds returned to leks disturbed later in the morning compared to those disturbed early. Return times after observer arrivals were longer than after raptor disturbance and after observer movements within the blind. We did not observe mating or male-female pairs leaving leks together during disturbance treatments but we did at similar times during control observations, despite almost half the time spent at controls. We suggest that disturbances early, when females are more likely to be in attendance, are more likely to disrupt mating than disturbances that occur later, despite fewer males returning to leks disturbed later in the morning. We suggest that managers consider the impacts of human disturbance at viewing blinds in declining populations and potential mating losses that might occur at leks with inconsistent attendance.
