As I was riding my mountain bike down Meyer's Homestead trail last Thursday morning I spotted this bird on the edge of the trail. I stopped and got out my camera since I'd never seen one before. At first I thought it was a pheasant, but once I got a good look at her it was obvious that it wasn't a pheasant. Normally a bird will take right off, but she stayed in the general area. Given that fact and that ruffled feathers and noises she was making I assumed she had a nest near bye. I snapped these shots and continued on my way.
Afterwards, I found out that she was a Blue Grouse which are considered uncommon in that area. They're more common in the Pacific Northwest of the USA and along the coast of British Columbia of Canada and up into a portion of Alaska. They do nest on the ground in an area similar to where I spotted her. I didn't spot her on the way back down, but assume she was back in further amongst the boulders and tree stumps, etc.
She was maybe 5 to 10 feet away from me.
Awesome that you had a camera handy. I've never seen one of these grouses live. Thanks for sharing! :o)
ReplyDeleteThanks, glad you enjoyed it! :)
ReplyDeleteOh she's beautiful! I haven't seen a grouse since I was young. Gramps used to take me 'hunting'. The .22 went with us, but he never used it... LOL old softie. ;)
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