"Spring Sharptail"

[jonny_redhorse]

I came across some sharptail Friday hiding in a fenceline....they saw me and held long enough for me to get a few "in habitat" shots...tough to get close to these guys in the open...wind was blowing and drifting,fingers were cold(8 above) ....here's a decent image,to bad the brush was in front of the bird but he wasn't going to "pose" for me I'm sure!

[Jim Almquist]

Very nice capture Jonny. I was telling the wife that we ought to take a drive and see if we can shoot some

[jonny_redhorse]

thanks Jim!.....I've seen the sharptail 2 weekends in a row in close to the same spot(fields) within a hundred yards or so.....at the intersection of Cty RD#29 and township road 5853(Watsula Road)...all large hay fields seperated by brushy fencelines...no doubt the sharpies will be there as the weather warms for the "dance" thing....right at sunrise and or sunset.....

[Steve Foss]

Nice ones, Jonny. Are you planning to look for the lek and try to get some dancing?

[jonny_redhorse]

It sure would be nice Steve....just gotta be there early morning or late evening but also would be nice if the snow melts off the fields...there's still some snow and no doubt the cold also affects the willingness of the sharpies to do the dance thing.I must admit that I never got my butt otta bed at 4:00 am and got to the field "before" sunrise by an hour (as the DNR said a person should do )...hopefully it will warm up by this weekend but ,Yes,I was sure thinking of going down there again earlier to finally get a chance to see them do the dance....I'll be off from friday to next tuesday ..."spring break" minnesota style ...and certainly if you like, one could get together and go check out that field (and others as they fly from field to field)....I'll send you my phone #if you'd be interested for more info...here's another map I just made ,crude but gets the job done west is hwy#5,east would go to hwy#7...

[Jim Almquist]

Thanks for the map Jonny. I would like to catch them doing that dance thing