For the bird nerds...

Behold, Lagopus leucura, the White-tailed Ptarmigan, spotted here at Snoqualmie Pass.*edited for accuracy, there was a lynch mob forming...

Sweet! I love finding the little wing marks they make in the snow when they first take off from their sub-snow sleeping spots.

Cool! Southern end of range = near Mt. Adams ?

Snoqualmie

There's a detailed Washington range map on birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=121

Incidentally, "bird nerds" would note that the scientific name is properly spelled Lagopus leucura. Per the Wikipedia article , "The species name leucura was for a long time misspelt leucurus, in the erroneous belief that the ending of Lagopus denotes masculine gender. However, as the Ancient Greek term λαγωπους is of feminine gender, and the species name has to agree with that, the feminine leucura is correct." The incorrect spelling remains in broad use, but a Google search shows that many newer publications are using the correct spelling.

For a bird which is "uncommon" in the Cascades (as stated on Birdweb), I seem to stumble upon ptarmigans (in their summer plumage) quite often during late-summer and fall hikes to various peaks and alpine areas. Usually sitting right in the middle of the trail, and then running along the trail for quite a long distance as I continue to walk, before eventually darting off to the side or (very rarely) making a short hop-like flight to escape. It has always surprised me that a species with so little panic response and flight instinct upon seeing a potential predator approach has managed to survive and thrive. They certainly are well camouflaged in summer or winter, though.

« Last Edit: Today at 10:06:47 AM by Hyakbc »
[hr]Edited posts don't count.

Irony -- LOL!