Attwater Prairie Chickens after the flood

We hope the Houston Zoo APC have a good breeding year to make up for the flood victims.

Houston Zoo's Attwater Prairie Chickens at NASA weathered the rains of Hurricane Harvey with no troubles. But the volunteers working on the pens didn't get back to work for about two weeks because most were helping storm damage to friends' homes or beach areas.

However not all the Texas APC survived.

From Friends of APCNWR Facebook page:

This morning we received the following update from Terry Rossignol, Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge manager:

"Unfortunately, the APC at the refuge did not fare well. Of 29 that were being tracked before the storm (generally hens only), we only have 5 confirmed alive. An additional 3 have gone missing since the storm. Birds have yet to be checked in Goliad. Quail also took it on the chin. Dr. Silvy's project had 12 quail radioed before the storm. He picked up 5 dead after, and 4 are missing, 3 confirmed alive.

​Although the ​refuge headquarters is open as usual, the auto tour route remains closed until we can fix a few spots. Folks can drive/walk to the Horseshoe Lake observation blind. Trails are mosquito infested. Refuge HQ/Visitor Center building and maintenance compound area are fine."

Attwater's Prairie Chickens get privacy for breeding

Males inflate their yellow sacs to make a booming sound during breeding season

The male Attwater's Prairie Chickens, which are booming for the females, have been paired with potential mates at the Houston Zoo's breeding facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

So that means that the volunteers have been kicked out to give the birds their privacy.

Today was our last day of weeding in the pens until late June or July.  Then we will continue our battle against deep-rooted sedge.

By the summer we hope there will be chicks to add to the population of endangered APC.

What a nice tail.

All these pics are of the same bird. Here is his "stay away" look.

This is his "I will peck that camera" look.

APC pens

Live long and prosper, Attwater's Prairie Chickens. We'll see you again this summer.

Endangered Attwater's prairie chickens' crazy mating dances

Attwater's Prairie Chickens are in breeding mode at the NASA facility maintained by the Houston Zoo to save the coastal bird.

We were on a tour to see the endangered birds, and they didn't disappoint.

The males are booming and showing off for the females. When anyone approaches a pen, the males come to the front to protect their females.

Booming is the sound the birds make when they inflate their yellow air sacs.

The zookeeper said the males' eye hoods get brighter during mating season.

A single-minded Attwater's prairie chicken performs its mating dance.

I didn't get a good pic of the shy females. They like to stay at the back of the pens when strangers are around.

With the loss of coastal prairie, the population of Attwater's Prairie Chickens dropped. Approximately 100 are now in the wild.

At one time about a million of the birds were spread across 6 million acres along the coastal bend, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The zoo's breeding program raises Attwater's Prairie Chickens to join the wild populations. 

Progress has been slow. Re-population efforts have had to deal with with hurricanes, drought and fire ants, which can wipe out the birds' food sources.

This bird shaking its tail feathers is part of the grouse family.