Spruce Grouse / Falcipennis canadensis

Calgary's AIR QUALITY hits 10+, the worst possible rating, as wildfire smoke blankets Alberta. The smoke blown from the BC wildfires is intensely unpleasant - no sign of the mountains and we can barely even see the foothills, the smoke is so thick.

calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/air-quality-deemed-high...

B.C. (British Columbia) State of emergency declared across province as 566 fires burn. For the second year in a row, wildfires have prompted the B.C. government to declare a province-wide state of emergency.

calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/b-c-wildfires-2018-stat...

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Yesterday, 15 August 2018, a friend and I drove west of the city to a forested area where we were hoping to find a few fungi. Over the years, I had been out there a number of times and found some interesting species. Everywhere is so hot and so dry here, so I wanted to explore before things become even worse. After seeing a friend's photo of an Amanita muscaria seen there recently, I was really hoping to find one. Well, I found two, but they were dried-up, shrivelled individuals. Still happy to find them, though.

The highlight of our forest walk was suddenly coming across three beautiful Spruce Grouse who were feeding fairly close to the edge of the trail. They were not bothered at all by our presence, giving us a great chance to watch them and take a few photos. They are such beautiful birds and are able to camouflage themselves well while on the ground.