Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Dusky Grouse


I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes


For this week's wild bird I am sharing the Dusky Grouse seen in the Rocky Mountain National Park..



 The Dusky Grouse is a forest dwelling Grouse native to the Rocky Mountains..These birds were seen off the road on the way to the Bear Lake Trail, just past the Glacier Gorge parking lot.. Adult females are mottled brown with dark brown and white marks on the underparts..


 This shot is not the best, taken thru the car window..I stopped for the Dusky Grouse crossing the road..Yes, it was to get to the other side, haha.. And to join the other two that were laying in the grass next to the road.   We saw three together..Cool sighting..




 Here are two Dusky Grouse, even though one looks like a log behind the first one..Can you see them both? Their nest is a scrape on the ground concealed under a bush or log.. They eat pine and fir needles.. UGH, how appetizing is that?


Nap time for this Dusky Grouse.. Females will leave the males territory after mating, I guess daddy does not help with the young. I hope you enjoyed my wild bird post..


Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to both of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and our host Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

61 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your wildlife shots. Always something to see and learn in your posts.

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  2. Fantastic sighting, Eileen! I can barely tell them as they camouflage so well.

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  3. yep...a grouse is worth stopping the car for ;O)

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  4. You made a great sighting there Eileen. I can't imagine that many people who travel up that way will get to see the grouse. Their camouflage is just incredible, rather like nighthawks I'm thinking.

    Have a great week.

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  5. Wonderful pictures - what great camouflage.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  6. WOW! Well spotted Eileen. Never heard of them but great shots.

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  7. i don't believe i have ever seen a grouse before? maybe i never realized what i was seeing or watching? so cool! ( :

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  8. Neat shots! They have pretty good camouflage!

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  9. they are amazing, the natural camouflage is perfect... yes I can see both of them. i have never seen a grouse and not even a photo until now.. what a great find...

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  10. Great pictures, Eileen....he sure blends into the environment.

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  11. Hi Eileen,
    What a great pictures of the black grouse.
    These are very rare in the Netherlands.
    Well done the car is stopped for these beautiful birds.

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  12. wonderful, neat birds! well-camouflaged!

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  13. Great sighting indeed - since they can hide so well. I could see both of them but they sure blend in with that log.

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  14. Ηello Eileen!!
    What a lovely bird!!I have never seen it before!Wonderful photos and great captures!Have a happy week!!
    Dimi...

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  15. Great close up shots of the grouse!

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  16. beautiful....it sure does have a lot of feather detail!!

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  17. What a great find, love your humour everything has to get to the other side. They are camouflaged very well with the log. You sure know your birds

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  18. Cool shots of the grouse, Eileen! I have tried many times to spot and photograph this grouse's relative (the Spruce Grouse) but so far no luck!

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  19. Oh cool! I've never seen one of those.

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  20. Well seen. Looks like the grouse is well camouflaged.

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  21. Gorgeous shots ! I've never seen those birds. They are beautiful !
    Greetings

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  22. Hi Eileen, What a neat bird! I have only seen Grouse a couple of times and that was back in Northern California near Sacramento. Have a great day tomorrow!

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  23. Your Dusky Grouse are wonderful! They are pretty well camouflaged. Someone less observant would've missed it! Great photos!

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  24. Excellent find...and awesome photos.

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  25. A great observation and beautiful photos.

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  26. Interesting bird. In that one picture with the two of them, they really blend in well.

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  27. You are good! I have never seen a grouse in the wild. Now I know it is possible.

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  28. Wow! They really are hard to spot! Great photos my friend! Hugs, Diane

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  29. I enjoyed learning about this beautiful and interesting bird. You must have quite the life list now!

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  30. That is a well camouflaged bird! Nice photos!

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  31. You really got some good shots!




    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= . <3 . >< } } (°>

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  32. Neat pictures of the Grouse, Eileen. I saw one when we were in CO --but had no idea what it was... Interesting birds for sure and you got some good photos.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  33. This is so lovely, and proves that you do not have to have exotic and bright plumage to be beautiful, lovely ones by the log. Cheers,Jean.

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  34. Nice! They really have good camouflage.

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  35. It's well camouflaged, pretty looking as well.

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  36. Great shots!! A Dusky Grouse would be a lifer for me!

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  37. Oh my!
    How lucky you got to be able to get THAT close!!
    They don't seem shy, probably because they are not hunted in this protected environment!
    Makes one wish we could live in a hunt free world where birds and animals wouldn't have to fear us any longer......
    Fantastic shots Eileen
    Keep well :)

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  38. A lovely bird we do not see around here. Grouse are found more in the wild areas.

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  39. Fascinating Eileen and well spotted. New to me this Dusky Grouse. Have a great day.

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  40. That was a great sighting. A bird I've never even heard of. Your life list expands with every trip.

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  41. Olá Eileen, essas aves se confundem com o habitat!
    Os gostos delas são mesmo especiais, mas são lindas!
    Abraço,
    Ailime

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  42. Fun spotting of the grouse. They are neat birds. I enjoyed your photos of them.
    I haven't seen on in years. I remember a long time ago being scared to death after going into some underbrush to flush out deer and hearing this werid sound that scared the heebie jeebies out of me. Turned out to be a grouse trying to attract a female.

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  43. Beautiful birds! They're very well camouflaged.

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  44. this is a bird I would love to meet. :) Love your images of it.

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  45. I absolutely loved your post! As you said, very cool sighting. I've only seen a grouse (not sure what kind) once when we were visiting on Salt Spring Island. That one, too, was on a road (unpaved) at the edge of a forest. Lots of interesting and much appreciated information here, Eileen. Thanks so much! See you Saturday :)

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  46. what a lovely bird, it looks so gentle.

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  47. It's too bad the Daddy Grouse doesn't help with the young. That sounds like a lot of human families. I enjoyed your photo.

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  48. Great job spotting this trio. They are pretty birds.

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  49. Such lovely birds and great camouflage in the shrubbery Eileen!

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  50. Were you hiding that you could photograph it. Bird so pretty close
    And there are even two:-)

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  51. Great pictures. You did well to see them through the undergrowth.

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  52. Wonderful photographs of Dusky Grouse, Eileen♡♡♡ Sure these two look really blend in with log behind them:-)

    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*

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  53. Oh I do want to see one of these, lucky find and great shares!

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  54. Wonderful cryptic colouring, nature is so amazing.

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  55. Such gorgeous markings . . . I have always preferred subtle color tones . . . over bright colors. The Grouse has such gorgeous colors!
    Thanks Eileen, another great post!

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