The out-of-town warden called me from his truck late yesterday morning, to let me know they had finished the line transect survey for the Red Desert antelope herd. And to let me know they flushed about 50 sage grouse off a strutting ground first thing that morning.

This on 19 May, which is fairly late for so many grouse to still be strutting in the desert. And he wanted to confirm that this was a lek that we already knew about. Only roughly two miles north of the interstate, on the 107^o 46' transect line.

After his call, I warmed up the topo map software and checked. Nearest lek I've got is almost four miles west of that spot.

They found a new lek.

If it is a lek at all. Somebody needs to go out and confirm that site from the ground. Somebody needs to get up dark and early again and sacrifice a couple hours of office work to go out in the field and look for sage grouse strutting.

One last time for this year.

Oh, joy!

The masked heeler was eager to go this morning, but it took a couple calls to get her sister out of bed. But then she also was thrilled, since I took her butt muzzle (she's in heat) off at the door, and she got to spend the entire trip uncovered.

Was surprised to see taillights ahead of me on the Continental Divide Road. Little early for the gas field workers to be out. Had killed my headlights as we left the asphalt, so the man with his truck parked broadside in the middle of the road (presumably in preparation of a pee break) looked a little surprised himself when I zoomed up upon him.

You pick a random road out in the middle of nowhere for a little privacy, and all of a sudden it's Grand Central Station.

Heeler sisters got their drag-race-and-pee break shortly after we interrupted his.

There is a large grassy flat near the coordinates the warden provided, and I suspected that was where any lek would be. And it was. Twenty-nine cocks out there on the flat, right at sunrise. Not much strutting action, just a few face-offs and some chases.

Seventeen minutes after sunup, they all took off en masse to the west. A quick walk on the ground removed any doubt. Grouse pellets and caecal piles were thick in one small part of the flat, along with a scattering of weathered feathers.

We have a new lek.

And a quick game of hide-and-seek.