Hey Tweets,

I was hoping that someone out there in tweeterland could help explain this
grouse sighting I had a little over a week ago near Tiffany Mountain in the
Okanogan Cascades. I am quite certain I was looking at a Ruffed Grouse, but
at an elevation approaching 8,000 feet, it seemed to be the wrong spot for
Ruffed Grouse. If someone could convince me I was looking at a "crested"
Blue Grouse, that would be fine by me.

At sunset, I began making my way back down the Tiffany Mountain trail in the
open meadow areas slightly above tree-line. By the way, it was an
incredibly wonderful hike with breath-taking views.Singing Hermit Thrush,
Horned Lark (with no yellow), and singing Savannah Sparrow were also nice. I
took a little side-trek to look down into the trees and valley to the
Northwest. As I approached the trees, two grouse flushed and flew-off into
the forest below. Darn, I missed them , I believe were my thoughts at the
time. However, I noticed that one grouse remained "frozen" near the top of a
20 foot subalpine fir, giving me great side-view, eye-level look with my
scope at about 40 feet away.

The grouse was very non-descript, brownish gray with a a small amount of
white "flecking" on the upperparts. As it was a side view, I could not see
all of the belly, but it did become white and black patterned at the
undertail coverts (at least the part I could see). The side view also
prevented any detection of color in the tips of the tail feathers. The
"longish" tail length and the long neck profile of this bird seems to
rule-out Spruce Grouse. I also would be surprised to have Spruce Grouse
"fly-off".

In my mind, no amount of hair gel would of flattened the crested head
feathers into a nicely rounded head profile. Additionally, although I know
size can be a difficult thing to determine even at 40 feet with a scope, the
bird just didn't appear big enough to be a Blue Grouse. At the same token,
this non-descript grouse did not show a "dark neck ruff" or did it appear to
have dark bars on the flanks as one might be expected to see on a Ruffed
Grouse. I walked across a little patch of snow, so I could sneak a little
closer to possibly get a better look at the underside of this grouse. Of
course the bird few-off along with 4 or 5 more birds that must have been on
the ground near-by. So there must have been 8-10 adult grouse in this spot
possibly "roosting for the night".

If there are some grouse experts out there that could shed some light on
this sighting, that would be great! Do Ruffed Grouse venture up to this sort
of elevation occasionally? Do "alarmed" Blue Grouse show a very distinct
head crest (which by the way never changed in appearance on this bird for
the 10 minutes I watched) ?

I enjoyed watching and listening to the singing Alder Flycatcher in
Marblemount yesterday morning (8:00 - 9:00) along with a few other birders.
Thanks Scott, great find! Even if the Alder Flycatcher wasn't present this
is a great spot. Lazuli Bunting, Red-eyed Vireo, and Black and Vaux's Swifts
above make for a pretty "birdy" location.

Brad Waggoner
Bainbridge Island, Washington
mailto:wagtail at sounddsl.com