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Platte River Status: A locally common permanent resident. During winters of heavy snowfall, greater prairie-chickens appear along the Platte River where they forage on cottonwood buds. Surveys on Mormon Island, Hall County, have been conducted annually during 1979-1986, and greater prairie-chicken wintered on that area in 1979 (40 birds), 1983 (22 birds) and 1987 (5 birds). This species was recorded on the Grand Island Christmas Bird Count for the first time in 1983. Greater prairie-chickens were recorded on Mormon Island in March 1981, 1983, and 1984 and on 15 February 1985. There are no summer records and one fall record (November 1980) for Mormon Island. At least three males were present and displaying on a lek on Shoemaker Island, Hall County, during February to May 1988 and 1989. Tout (1947) described annual movements of greater-prairie chicken in Lincoln County; the birds nest in the Sandhills and migrate to the Platte River Valley in winter.

Breeding Range: Within our study area, greater prairie-chicken is restricted entirely to the Sandhills area, or small outliers of Sandhills vegetation adjacent to the Platte River Valley.

Breeding Population: The population was estimated at 7,718 breeding pairs in 1979-1980. Between 28 March and 4 May 1979, Faanes located 36 active greater prairie-chicken booming grounds in Keith and Lincoln Counties.

Habitat: We found the highest density of nesting greater prairie-chickens in upland prairie (0.2 pairs/km²). This species is especially characteristic of extensive tracts of upland prairie that is made up predominantly of big bluestem and sand bluestem. Mohler (1944) stated that greater prairie-chicken required extensive tracts of native grasslands for nesting. At the time of Mohler, this species occurred along the southern and eastern edge of the Sandhills where not over 40% of the land was under agricultural cultivation. Native prairie was the most important nesting and brood rearing habitat in Missouri, supporting 60% of all nest sites (Drobney and Sparrowe 1977). Nesting hens select tall and dense residual cover to conceal nests (Patterson 1973). Vegetative cover at 23 nest sites in Missouri averaged 45 cm tall (Drobney and Sparrowe 1977). Nesting greater prairie-chickens in Illinois preferred fields of uniformly structured native prairie grasses (Westemeier 1973). Typical habitat in South Dakota consisted of 74% grassland, 21% small grain crops, 3.5% weedy cover, and 1.5% wooded vegetation (Janson 1953). Some of the best greater prairie-chicken habitat in Kansas was made up of 63-66% permanent grassland; corn and other cereal crops made up 16-18% of the area (Baker 1953).

Effect of Habitat Alteration: The loss of native grasslands has produced a negative impact on this species through elimination of nesting and winter habitat. The occurrence of cropland was beneficial initially through provision of a winter food source. However, widespread intensification of agricultural production has proved detrimental to this species. Viehmeyer (1938) provided an excellent description of the causes of the demise of greater prairie-chicken as a nesting species in Nebraska. Later, Viehmeyer (1941) stated that by 1937, this bird had been extirpated from Nebraska. Much of the demise was attributed to heavy cattle grazing of grasslands that had been stressed by the great drought of the early 1930's. Modern farming practices such as fall plowing, greatly reduce the availability of waste grain as a food source (Prose 1985). Corn fields used by cattle after the fall harvest in Missouri provided little waste grain for greater prairie-chickens by late winter (Drobney and Sparrowe 1977).

Nesting Data: We have no confirmed records of nests or broods from the study area although the distribution of display leks provide excellent evidence of nesting each year. Tout (1936) reported that greater prairie-chicken was a nesting species in Lincoln County. Egg dates in Kansas extend from 1 May to 10 June (Johnsgard 1979).