Prairie Chicken Pageant - National Wildlife Federation/media/PDFs/Be Out There/Schoolyard...
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Summary: Students learn about the conservation challenges of the prairie chicken through performing a pageant. Time: 1-3 class periods Grade Level: 4-8, K-2 Subjects: science, drama, art Skills: comparison, description, research Learning Objectives: Students will be able to: ✓ Identify several adaptations of an endangered prairie species. ✓ Describe conservation chal- lenges of the prairie chicken. ✓ Propose creative solutions to prairie conservation issues. ✓ Discuss current efforts to protect prairie chickens. Materials: ✓ “Prairie Habitats” worksheet ✓ “Build a Prairie Chicken” worksheet ✓ Prairie Chicken Fact Sheet ✓ Prairie Chicken Pageant Cards Background When Europeans first set foot on New England shores, they noticed an odd tooting cry, punctuated with howls, cackles, and mad laughter. Surprisingly, the colonists discovered that the odd crea- ture issuing the ominous calls was a drab, buff-brown, medium-sized bird with dark bars on its feathers. The cacophony was part of the complex mating ritual of these birds. This animated bird was the heath hen, but sadly, both the heath hen and its mating spec- tacle are now gone. Colonial settlers hunted the bird heavily on sandy scrub-oak plains, from Massachusetts to Pennsyl- vania and New Jersey. By 1840, the heath hen was extinct on mainland Massachusetts and Connecticut. By 1870, the bird survived only on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off New England. There it dwindled to extinction in 1938, as the last scraps of its habitat vanished. The bird that one colonist described as “too common to waste a shot on” was gone. Today, when state agencies protect wildlife and the federal government can employ the Endangered Species Act to help protect vanishing species, such extinctions should be a thing of the past. Yet the heath hen’s story is repeating itself, as the Attwater’s prairie chicken, a close relative of the heath hen’s, has dropped from an abundant population to the brink of extinction. A subspecies of Tympanuchus cupido, the greater prairie chicken, that once ranged across 6 million acres of Louisiana and Texas coastal grasslands and numbered a million strong, the Attwater’s prairie chicken suffered great losses to uncontrolled hunting of the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, habitat loss and fragmentation have applied what may be the last straw. In 1937, when the first serious study of the Attwater’s was launched, the bird had become extinct in Louisiana and was reduced to about 8,700 birds in Texas. Exactly 30 years later, when it was listed as endangered, there were fewer than 1,100 birds. By 1992, the population had declined to 456 birds scattered across five Texas counties — a decline of 95% since 1937. Since this time, the slide towards extinction has NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION PRAIRIES PRAIRIE CHICKEN PAGEANT www.nwf.org Prairie Chicken Pageant
Transcript of Prairie Chicken Pageant - National Wildlife Federation/media/PDFs/Be Out There/Schoolyard...
Summary:Students learn about the conservation challenges of the prairie chicken through performing a pageant.
Time:1-3 class periods
Grade Level:4-8, K-2
Subjects:science, drama, art
Skills:comparison, description,research
Learning Objectives:Students will be able to:
✓ Identify several adaptations ofan endangered prairie species.
✓ Describe conservation chal-lenges of the prairie chicken.
✓ Propose creative solutions toprairie conservation issues.
✓ Discuss current efforts toprotect prairie chickens.
Materials:✓ “Prairie Habitats”
worksheet
✓ “Build a Prairie Chicken” worksheet
✓ Prairie Chicken Fact Sheet
✓ Prairie Chicken Pageant Cards
Background
When Europeans first set footon New England shores, theynoticed an odd tooting cry,punctuated with howls,cackles, and mad laughter.Surprisingly, the colonistsdiscovered that the odd crea-ture issuing the ominous callswas a drab, buff-brown,medium-sized bird with darkbars on its feathers. Thecacophony was part of thecomplex mating ritual of thesebirds.
This animated bird was theheath hen, but sadly, both theheath hen and its mating spec-tacle are now gone. Colonialsettlers hunted the bird heavilyon sandy scrub-oak plains,from Massachusetts to Pennsyl-vania and New Jersey. By 1840,the heath hen was extinct onmainland Massachusetts andConnecticut. By 1870, the birdsurvived only on Martha’sVineyard, an island off NewEngland. There it dwindled toextinction in 1938, as the lastscraps of its habitat vanished.The bird that one colonistdescribed as “too common towaste a shot on” was gone.
Today, when state agenciesprotect wildlife and the federalgovernment can employ the
Endangered Species Act to helpprotect vanishing species, suchextinctions should be a thing ofthe past. Yet the heath hen’sstory is repeating itself, as theAttwater’s prairie chicken, aclose relative of the heath hen’s,has dropped from an abundantpopulation to the brink ofextinction.
A subspecies of Tympanuchuscupido, the greater prairiechicken, that once rangedacross 6 million acres ofLouisiana and Texas coastalgrasslands and numbered amillion strong, the Attwater’sprairie chicken suffered greatlosses to uncontrolled huntingof the nineteenth century. Inthe twentieth century, habitatloss and fragmentation haveapplied what may be the laststraw. In 1937, when the firstserious study of the Attwater’swas launched, the bird hadbecome extinct in Louisianaand was reduced to about8,700 birds in Texas. Exactly30 years later, when it waslisted as endangered, therewere fewer than 1,100 birds.By 1992, the population haddeclined to 456 birds scatteredacross five Texas counties — adecline of 95% since 1937.Since this time, the slidetowards extinction has
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Prairie Chicken Pageant
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continued, revealing thecrucial link between speciessurvival and habitat integrity,and highlighting the challengesin protecting habitat forendangered species under theEndangered Species Act.
The Attwater’s prairie chickenis disappearing as rapidly as isthe habitat it requires tosurvive: less than 3% of itsoriginal habitat remains.Moreover, the habitatremnants are fragmented,making isolated chicken popu-lations susceptible to weatherextremes, land-use changes,predation, and disease. Nativecoastal prairie is essential tothe survival of the Attwater’sprairie chicken. Young prairiechickens eat mostly insects,but the adults are primarilyherbivorous, living on foliage,flowers, and sometimes seedsand insects. In addition tofood, the grasslands providelekking (gathering andcourting) areas, nesting sites,and shelter from predatorssuch as raccoons, coyotes, andskunks.
Studies of the Attwater’s prairiechicken have shown that it isextremely sensitive to changesin its environment. The birdslive and nest in tallgrassprairies, but they require openareas at ground level forlekking and raising their
chicks, making mixed grassprairie ideal. Sandy parts of thebird’s remaining range are espe-cially susceptible to drought.When these areas become toodry to produce proper grasscover, the birds die off or moveto other areas. Range areas withpoorly drained soils becomeless suitable for the chickensduring wet periods. The birdsapparently move from one areato another depending on mois-ture and grass growth. As thehabitat shrinks and becomesfragmented, however, the birdshave fewer alternatives.
Since presettlement times,Attwater’s prairie chickenhabitat hasdeclined from 6million acres tofewer than200,000. Thegrasslands havebeen claimed byagriculture,urban sprawl,industrial devel-opment, poorgrazing practices,and invasion bywoody plantspecies. InGalvestonCounty, Texas,for example, thelast survivingAttwater’s prairiechickens are
being crowded out by growthof the Houston metropolitanarea. The harmful effects ofthis habitat loss have beenaccentuated by recentdroughts, which exacerbate thevegetation – clearing effects ofgrazing, since livestock tend toovergraze during extended dryperiods.
The U.S. Fish and WildlifeService (FWS) is seeking tomanage and protect public andprivate land for the Attwater’sprairie chicken. Better landmanagement is particularlyvital to the subspecies’ survivalin the wild: Moderate grazingremoves excess vegetation while
maintaining winterand nesting cover; falland early springburning or mowingstimulate certain typesof critical plantgrowth and open areasfor leks; fire andherbicides controlencroaching woodyvegetation. Amongother efforts, FWS isworking to initiategrassland mowingregimes that ensureproper cover density,use fire to clear awaydead grasses thathinder movement ofyoung birds, and growspecial food plots. All
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of these are attempts to mimicthe effects of natural processesthat have been lost.
Private land management alsoplays a key role in Attwater’sprairie chicken habitatconservation. Manygrazed areas are inpoor-to-fair biolog-ical condition, whilethe Attwater’s prairiechicken demandsgrasslands that are ingood-to-excellent biologicalcondition in order to survive.FWS and the Texas Parks andWildlife Department offerfinancial incentives to privatelandowners who help protectthe birds and their habitat.Private landowners are encour-aged to adopt grazing andmowing practices that do notharm Attwater’s habitat and torestore grassland habitat whereit has been degraded.Improving grasslands for thebirds will yield better grazingland for livestock as well.
Additional conservation meas-ures to protect the Attwater’sinclude monitoring survivingpopulations, public education,and captive breeding for futurereintroductions. FWS isattempting to raise Attwater’sprairie chickens in captivity,but the process has beenfraught with difficulty. To date,the release of captive-bred
prairie chickens has failed toproduce any increase in currentpopulations.
Procedure
1. Ask students What do youthink of when you think ofchicken? If they say “food,”ask them if they know wherethose chickens come from(farm). Have they ever heardof a wild chicken? Explainthat there is a very specialspecies of bird, the Attwater’sprairie chicken, that is anendangered species in theNorth American prairies.Emphasize that it is actuallyNOT a chicken but a speciesof grouse (and relative of thechicken’s predomesticatedancestors), and a highlyendangered prairie bird.
2. Hand out copies of thePrairie Habitats student
worksheet. Givestudents time tocomplete it andthen review it as
a class, discussinghow each of the
pictured characteristicsrelates to the prairie. Askyounger students (K-2) tothink about the habitat ofthe prairie chicken. Givestudents time to look at thefour drawings in Part II ofthe worksheet and choosethe best habitat for theprairie chicken. Discusstheir choices as a class. Theanswer would be mixedgrass prairie.
3. Hand out the Build a PrairieChicken sheet and thePrairie Chicken Fact Sheet.
4. Have students read the FactSheet and think about thehabitat of the prairie chickenand the adaptations it needsfor survival in the prairie.What adaptations would helpit there? Give students timeto complete the worksheet.
5. Discuss the answers studentschose. Why did they chooseeach one?
6. Tell the students that theywill now be performing aPrairie Chicken Pageant.Divide them into five
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groups. Hand out a PrairieChicken Pageant Card toeach group, and explain thatthe students will develop askit based on their card. Allof the skits will then beacted out in order, to createa Prairie Chicken Pageant.Pageant Cards include: 1)prairie chicken daily life; 2)prairie chicken matingdance; 3) historical conser-vation challenges; 4) savinga place for the prairiechicken; 5) what can we doto help. For more advancedstudents, give them the topicof the card and have themdevelop the skit from theirown research.
7. Have students prepare andrehearse their pageantpresentations. Be sure to tellthem they are free to incor-porate sound effects, music,and any props they wouldlike to create. Have youngerstudents create prairiechicken masks for use intheir pageant.
8. Take the class outside to theschoolgrounds to performthe pageant, having eachgroup perform while the restof the class watches, writing
down any questions theymay have.
9. After the pageant, havestudents ask each otherquestions about any part ofthe pageant. Why did theyinclude what they did? Whatdid they learn?
10. Ask students, Is your schoollocated in an area whereprairie chickens once lived?Could they live there? Why,or why not? Could youprovide habitat for on yourschoolyard for any prairieanimals? Which ones? Why,or why not?
11. If you live outside of agrasslands area, askstudents to consider whatkey type of habitat theirschool is located in. Is itdisappearing? What speciesare being affected by thishabitat loss? Considercreating or restoring thattype of habitat on yourschoolyard.
Modifications forYounger Students(K-2)
Read each card aloud for thestudents and have them act itout, one card at a time. Have
the students make prairiechicken masks for use in theirpageant.
Modifications forOlder Students (7-8)
Have the students researchtheir own information for eachof the pageant card topics.
Extensions
Have students research adifferent prairie animal, its lifecycle and conservation chal-lenges. Have groups write thecomponents of a prairiepageant and trade with anothergroup. As a class, develop thecriteria (rubric) on which tojudge their pageants.
Assessment
Have students create a story-book about the prairiechicken, translating theirpageant into a book, with textand illustrations appropriate totheir grade level.
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Part I Instructions: Write under each picture how it relates to the prairie.
Prairie Habitats
Fire Grasses Bison Adequate Rainfall
(1) (2)
(3) (4)
Part II Instructions: Choose the best habitat for the prairie chicken:
WORKSHEET
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Build a Prairie Chicken
Instructions: Choose the body part that will help the prairie chicken survive in itsprairie habitat. Circle the correct part.
crack
scratch swim grasp climb
long and narrow
narrow and unslotted long, broad, and slotted
short rounded and wide
spear hook basket
BILL:
WINGS:
FEET:
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Latin Name: Tympanuchuscupido attwateri
Estimated Population:Though there were once amillion of these birds, there arenow about 56 living in the wild.There are close to 200 birds incaptive breeding populations.
Range:Attwater’s prairie chickens oncelived across 6 million acres ofLouisiana and Texas grasslands.They now live in three Texascounties: Colorado County,Galveston County, and VictoriaCounty.
HabitatType:Prairie chickens live and nest intallgrass coastal prairie.The birds use longgrasses for nesting andareas of short grassesfor courtship.They useboth grasses for feeding.Young prairie chickenseat mostly insects, andadults eat mostly vegeta-tion — leaves, flowers,seeds, and sometimes insects.They need open areas on theground for mating and raisingtheir chicks.They also dependon the grasslands for shelter
from predators such asraccoons, coyotes, and skunks.
Background:This bird performs a spectacularcourtship dance on its westerngrassland habitat. It is one ofthree known subspecies ofgreater prairie chickens.Asecond one is also in trouble,and the third, the heath hen ofthe Eastern United States,became extinct by 1932.
Primary Threats:The primary threat to thesurvival of the prairie chicken ishabitat loss. Its habitat has beenlost because people havechanged it to agricultural fields
for wheat, cotton and rice, andto urban areas overtime. Because the
population of birds is now sosmall, prairie chickens are also introuble because they are eatenby birds, like owls, and bobcats,racoons, coyotes, and skunks.Disease at captive breeding loca-tions is also a problem forprairie chickens.
Prairie chickens once dependedon grazing bison to keep nativegrasses at the best height anddensity for them to find cover andmake nests. Prairie chickens cannow live in the same areas ascattle, as long as people managecattle grazing so that it is similarto the grazing the bison once did.As prarie chicken habitat has alsobeen lost to cities and roads,(especially near Houston,Texas), itis necessary to protect areas ofopen prairie to save this splendid
bird. Some of the remainingterritory has been set aside asa sanctuary for them. Captivebreeding programs have alsobeen developed in an
effort to save this bird.
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Fact Sheet
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Name here!Prairie Chicken Pageant Cards
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Daily LifePrairie chickens live in tallgrass coastal prairie habitats.The birds uselong grasses for nesting and short grasses for their amazing courtshipdance and raising their chicks.They use both kinds of grasses forfeeding.Young prairie chickens eat mostly insects. Adults eat mostlyleaves, flowers, seeds and sometimes insects too. In addition to food,the grasslands provide mating areas, nesting sites, and shelter frompredators such as raccoons, coyotes, and skunks.
After mating, a prairie chicken female (hen) lays about a dozen eggs and they hatch about 26 dayslater. While the eggs are in the nest, and after they hatch as small chicks, many predators – likeopossums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, snakes, and dogs – find them to be a tasty meal. Less than halfthe chicks make it to adulthood.
Chicks stay with their mother for at least six weeks, eating mostly insects. As they grow older, theyalso eat leaves, flowers, and seeds of prairie plants.
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken Mating DanceThe prairie chicken performs a dance to attract a mate. Males gather in alarge area called a “lek” where each male stakes out a space of his own.There he performs his dance, hoping that the most females will be attractedto him.The males make a “booming” sound during their courtship dance.A male will also blow up his orange neck sacs, or “tympani,” like balloonsand stick up long feathers called “pinnae” from his neck. He will stomp hisfeet, then turn front and back a couple times.
A female will wander around in the lek, looking for the male she likes best. Once she chooses andmates with a male, she leaves the lek. She goes to make a nest in a shallow hole on the open prairie,within a mile of the lek. If her nest is destroyed early in the season, she will return to mate again.
Here’s one way you can imitate the mating ritual.Can you think of others?
1. Stomp your feet in small little steps (likethrowing a temper tantrum).
2. Puff up your cheeks as you stamp your feet.
3. Put your hands in fists at either side of yourhead and extend two fingers up and downwhile stomping feet and puffing up cheeks.
4. Make a “booming” sound, like the sound of airblown over the opening of a glass soda bottle.
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Conservation ChallengesWhy are Attwater’s prairie chickens so endangered? The most importantreason is habitat loss. A lot of prairie chicken habitat has been destroyedor degraded for the building of new houses, malls, offices, and new roads.Changing natural areas to cropland for growing food or grazing cattle hasalso been a part of habitat loss. Another problem is introduction ofspecies not native to the area. Several non-native trees have taken overcoastal prairie and made it useless to the Attwater’s prarie chicken. Many
years ago, natural fires kept trees from growing past the edges of the prairie, but settlers onceconsidered all fire to be bad and tried to stop nature’s natural fires. Finally, because the Attwater’s isso rare, with only about 56 birds left in the wild, they are also in danger of extinction when preda-tors eat them, and they sometimes get sick.
Save a Place for the Prairie ChickenThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is trying to manage and protectland for the Attwater’s prairie chicken. On lands owned by the government,they encourage cattle grazing that is not too much, or too little. A moderateamount of grazing removes extra vegetation but still lets the birds findcover in the winter and enough vegetation to build nests. FWS also burnsor mows some areas in the fall and early spring to encourage plants to growand keep some areas open for mating. Fire also helps to keep large trees from growing and clearsaway dead grasses that make it difficult for younger birds to get around. In addition, FWS keepsspecial areas where it grows food for the prairie chickens.
The FWS and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offer money to people who own land in the prairiechicken’s habitat.They use this money to pay landowners to help protect the birds by using the samegrazing, mowing, and burning practices that FWS service uses to restore prairie chicken habitat.
Also, these agencies keep careful track of how the prairie chicken population is doing, try toeducate people about them, and breed them in captivity so that they will survive.
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What Can We DoThere are lots of things people can do to help the prairie chicken!
✓ Support captive breeding programs where prairie chickens can becarefully watched and then released into the wild.
✓ Create more habitat for the prairie chicken! We can produce lotsof birds in captivity, but it won’t help that much if there is no placefor them to live in the wild. Support wildlife refuges in prairiechicken habitat working to buy more land for the prairie chicken.Work with conservationists toconvince private landowners who own prairie chicken habitat to conserve some of their land forthe birds. If you live in prairie chicken habitat, you can also help to create or restore prairiehabitat areas on our schoolyards and backyards, where there is enough room.
✓ Teach others about the amazing prairie chickens! Hold a school-wide prairie chicken festival,design posters, write songs and poems about the prairie chicken.
✓ Get your school to reduce the amount of energy it uses, re-use what you can and recycle asmuch as possible. Reducing how much you use means you will use fewer natural resources andproduce less pollution — leaving more healthy habitat for prairie chickens and other wildlife species.
