SummitPost - This little guy popped up out... -- Photos, Diagrams & Topos

This little guy popped up out...

[ Sizes: Orig | Med | Small | Thumb ]

This little guy popped up out from under perfectly flat and undisturbed snow as we were snowshoeing by. Its a Ptarmigan. February 22, 2004.

Comments

[ Post a Comment ]

Viewing: 1-10 of 10

Nelson

A RARE sighting!!

Hasn't voted

Great shot of something you don't see everyday. You must have reacted pretty quick to catch it.

In all my years of hiking and climbing in Colorado I've only seen ptarmigan about a dozen times, and only once or twice in winter. They are really neat birds.

Posted Feb 29, 2004 10:58 am


	mpbro	Re: A RARE sighting!!
	Hasn't voted	What a great shot!
		Posted Feb 29, 2004 12:09 pm


	truchas	Re: A RARE sighting!!
	Hasn't voted	Jackie and I actually saw another one. It was snow-bathing. This one just stuck its head up and that's all. The other one was rolling around in the snow.
		Posted Feb 29, 2004 3:08 pm


	rfbolton	Re: A RARE sighting!!
	Voted 10/10	Nelson, you're so right - those are neat birds. I haven't seen them very often either, but because they are so slow to flush, I've gotten quite close to them on several occasions. What I really like about them is that they always blend into their surroundings so perfectly. Here are some photos that demonstrate how well they camouflage. These are all White-tailed Ptarmigans. This pic has at least three adults and an unknown number of chicks. It was taken on the Mt. Elbert trail. This was taken in the Enchantment Lakes region near Dragontail Peak. Note the similarity between the camouflage and the rock. This is the same bird as the previous photo. Note how his color is different here than when he was on the black-and-white boulder. This guy was photographed by my friend Dave Allen at White Rock Lakes near Dome Peak. I saw this bird in the talus near the summit of Mt. Outram in southern British Columbia. Bob
		Posted Mar 10, 2004 11:39 pm


	Deb	Re: A RARE sighting!!
	Hasn't voted	That is an amazing bird! Very neat sighting in such a stark area. Love it!
		Posted Mar 11, 2004 10:38 am


	Klenke	Re: A RARE sighting!!
	Voted 10/10	Another pic of ptarmigans. These were on Pk 5782 ("Juggernaut") near Mt. Chaval last spring:
		Posted Mar 11, 2004 3:41 pm


	rfbolton	Re: A RARE sighting!!
	Voted 10/10	Cool shot Paul. They rarely flush, but when the do they don't go far. In your photo I love how they each stayed in the area where they were best camouflaged.
		Posted Mar 11, 2004 9:33 pm