Reply to: RE: Ptarmigan at Rainier
Just to add to the ptarmigan sighting at Rainier on Sunday.....

Alan Knue, Julian Donahue and myself arrived at the Fremont Lookout about 45 minutes after Rick Romea and Cindy Sprecher. We ran into Rick and Cindy on their way back down, and their report of a ptarmigan put a little more pep into our hiking pace!

We saw a male ptarmigan along the trail about 50 yards before the lookout, and watched as it worked it's way downslope and disappear into the fog. Proceeding to the lookout we saw a PAIR of ptarmigan right where the trail ends at the lookout. The male had it's tail partly cocked and seemed to be on the verge of a courtship display. They walked over the ridge and toward the location where the first male had disappeared downslope. He had appeared again, and the female then joined that male and he proceeded to fan his tail and display to her. They then took off flying across the snowbank into the fog, with the male giving his display call. The remaining male crossed the trail and just sat there, a few feet off the trail.
It seems like the Fremont Lookout has been the most reliable place to find white-tailed ptarmigan in recent the last few years.

Mike Donahue
Seattle