Nest-Area Fidelity of Greater Sage-Grouse in Strawberry Valley, Utah

Nest-area fidelity is common among many birds including those in the orders Anseriformes, Ciconiiformes, and Procellariiformes. Successful nesting attempts are often associated with a higher probability that nesting adults will return in a consecutive year. Conversely, unsuccessful birds are often less likely to show fidelity in subsequent years. Despite substantial natural history information from across the range of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), the prevalence of sage-grouse nest-area fidelity remains unclear. Our objectives were to (1) determine if individual female sage-grouse showed fidelity to nesting areas in subsequent years, (2) test whether successful females were more likely to demonstrate fidelity than unsuccessful females, and (3) examine the distance between nest sites and active leks in Strawberry Valley, Utah. We observed 30 radio-marked females that attempted a nest in consecutive nesting seasons between 1998 and 2010. The mean distance between initial year's nests and subsequent year's nests ( = 1459 m, SE = 84.9 m) was lower (P < 0.01) than the mean distance from initial year's nests to random nests ( = 13,263 m, SE = 227.5 m) indicating that sage-grouse demonstrated nest-area fidelity. We found no support (P > 0.05) for the hypothesis that successful females (n = 17, = 1355 m, SE = 142.6 m) were more likely to nest closer to the previous nest location than unsuccessful females (n = 13, = 1595 m, SE = 214.9 m) in our study area. Mean distance from all nests (n = 181) to nearest active lek was 4.3 km. We found only 57% of our nests located within the 3.2-km distance from an active lek often used to delineate critical nesting habitat. We suggest a more conservative distance of 10 km for our study area and consideration of nest-area fidelity in conservation planning.