Interseasonal Movements and Fidelity to Seasonal Use Areas by Female Sage Grouse

Sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus ) intraseasonal movements have been well documented. Daily movements of males during the breeding season, movements by nesting and brood-rearing hens, and movements of birds in winter have been determined through the use of radiotelemetry. The findings presented here were the result of a study conducted from 1978 through 1981 to determine sage grouse use on an area that has potential for surface coal mining. Telemetry was initially used to determine nesting, brood-rearing, and wintering areas of grouse that displayed on arenas within the proposed mine area. Extended life of transmitters on hen sage grouse allowed us to replace the transmitters to get consecutive-year data on a number of females. These data indicated a divergence from traditional movement theories and suggested possible fidelity to breeding, nesting, brood-rearing, and wintering areas.