FreeLists / tn-bird / [tn-bird] Re: Attwater's Prairie-Chicken

[Birders99@xxxxxxx]

Hi Susan & Tennessee Birders,

   The Attwater's Prairie Chicken is the Texas coast race of the Greater 
Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido). There is an Attwater's Prairie Chicken 
refuge just west of Houston Texas where a very small population is being 
protected in their native habitat. 
   
   Last April, on a trip between the Texas Hill Country and the ABA 
Conference in Beaumont, my husband & I decided to stop by the refuge to try 
to see some of the Prairie Chickens. When we arrived, we learned that the 
population there is extremely threatened. The Ranger who spoke with us told 
us that at that point, there were less than 150 of the birds remaining in the 
area. He also told us that while the management of the refuge keeps a close 
watch on the population, the areas of the refuge where the Attwater's Prairie 
Chickens live and breed are closed from the public. 
   
   There was also a race of the Greater Prairie Chicken called the Heath Hen 
that lived and bred on the Atlantic coast. It has been extinct since 1932 
according to Kenn Kaufman's Lives of North American Birds.

   After the ranger explained the peril that faces this race of the Greater 
Prairie Chicken, we fully understood that it was much more important to give 
the birds some privacy than to try to see them. We were sorry that we didn't 
get to see them, but we are glad that the refuge is making full efforts to 
protect the habitat and the remainder of the population in that area.
   
   Thanks for mentioning the National Geographic article. I want to pick up a 
copy and read about them. 

   Good Birding,

   Dana Hamilton
   Birmingham Al 


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