Gathering of the White-tailed Ptarmigan

Note to anyone who belongs to the ipernity website (includes me): ipernity will be closing. A great shame, but also frustrating. I have all 12,644 of my images and descriptions on ipernity - exactly the same as on Flickr. No idea where we are supposed to move to now, if anywhere. Does anyone have any ideas for good sites?

www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4642052

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On 22 November 2016, I was finally able to remove the White-tailed Ptarmigan from the top of my mental Wish List! Over the last few years, I have been with a friend maybe four or five times to look for these in the mountains, without any luck. I had told friends that this year, if I didn't see one of these grouse, I would build a snowman bird and photograph it. A lot of very deep snow in the whole area! This photo was taken from the road before I climbed half way down a short slope.

These birds tend to walk around in just one very small area at a time, feeding on the Willow buds, and then the group lies down, some of them burrowing till just the head and neck are visible, or some will burrow till they disappear completely under the snow. Every now and then, you can hear the little sounds they make. After resting, they repeat the process.

It was just so exciting to see 15 of these beautiful birds with friends, Dorothy and Stephen. Of course, to see just one bird would have been thrilling, too. We would definitely never have found them without help from several other friends. As you can imagine, spotting a white bird against a snowy background from a great distance is pretty well impossible - this photo was taken at Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm with my point-and-shoot.

"The smallest grouse in North America, the White-tailed Ptarmigan inhabits alpine regions from Alaska to New Mexico. It has numerous adaptations to its severe habitat, including feathered toes, highly cryptic plumage, and an energy-conserving daily regime." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Ptarmigan/id

"The white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), also known as the snow quail, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is a permanent resident of high altitudes on or above the tree line and is native to Alaska and the mountainous parts of Canada and the western United States. It has also been introduced into the Sierra Nevada in California, the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Uinta Mountains in Utah. Its plumage is cryptic and varies at different times of the year. In the summer it is speckled in gray, brown and white whereas in winter it is wholly white. At all times of year the wings, belly and tail are white. The white-tailed ptarmigan has a diet of buds, leaves, flowers and seeds. The nest is a simple depression in the ground in which up to eight eggs are laid. After hatching, the chicks soon leave the nest. At first they eat insects but later move on to an adult diet, their mother using vocalisations to help them find suitable plant food. The population seems to be stable and the IUCN lists this species as being of "Least Concern". From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_ptarmigan

Thanks so much, Dorothy and Stephen, for inviting me to go out for a day in the mountains. A day that turned out to be really great, helping us to see these beautiful 'lifers'.