A friend of mine saw a White-tailed Ptarmigan on the lawn of her
townhouse in Steveston, BC, at the mouth of the Fraser River. You can't
get much lower than that around here. It was in November, I think, and
the bird was in full white winter plumage. She described it as a small,
all-white grouse with feathered feet.

November is probably when White-taileds are moving a lot, young birds
dispersing, etc.; they show up on Mt. Seymour in North Vancouver at that
time. A mid-summer sighting in Douglas-fir forest on Vancouver Island is
completely amazing, to put it mildly.

Richard J. Cannings cannings at bcu.ubc.ca
Cowan Vertebrate Museum vertmus at bcu.ubc.ca
Department of Zoology, (604)822-4665
University of British Columbia (604)822-2416 (FAX)
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 CANADA