One of the things I learned early in my years of finding and counting sage grouse on their leks is that in the flat desert where they tend to be found, just a little additional height can make a big difference.

Trucks are tall. And hardly anybody looks to see if there are bootprints, dents, or scratches on top of the cab. So, I often improve my counts by climbing out the window or door and standing on the roof.

At one lek one year, I nearly doubled the count of a couple federal employees who were parked right next to me, sitting in their warm, comfortable cab with coffee and donuts. Just by standing on my truck.

So, from my notes this past week:

Tuesday:
24 males; not see all in tall sage
44 males; from top of truck

and on Thursday:
44 males; not see all in tall sage
74 males; from top of truck

And now, the point of this entry...

A couple views from the top of my truck: