The first Provincial Ornithologist appointed by Manitoba was Ernest Thompson Seton, world renowned author and conservationist. He wrote about the Sharp-tailed Grouse while living on his brother’s homestead near Carberry in 1883. The birds thrived in the era of wild prairie fires and bison grazing in the years leading up to the 1870’s. With the demise of the bison and arrival of settlers came a non-intensive form of ranching and farming. The Sharp-tailed Grouse adapted fairly well to this new landscape.
Much of our provincial landscape is no longer Sharp-tailed Grouse friendly. A fragmented landscape habitat that creates isolated pockets of bird populations spells trouble for the Sharp-tailed Grouse. Today Sharp-tailed Grouse populations have declined in many parts of the Province where they once thrived.
There is much that can be done to reverse the trend of population decline of the Sharp-tailed Grouse in Manitoba. Your support for the efforts of the Sharp-tails Plus Foundation is greatly appreciated.
