An addendum... I just looked at the photos I took of the Dendragapus
(Blue Grouse) and they suggest they are Dusky Grouse by the amount of
white on the breast feathers of the males. I missed the discussion
of the ranges of these two species and had assumed that "Pacific"
would include Mount Baker. Can anyone enlighten me or direct me to
better resources on the id and ranges of these species?

And, if anyone wants to see (or host) some photos, please let me
know. They're not great - in my excitement I left the setting on
landscape, but my little Olympus has a 10x zoom and the birds were at
about 10-15m, so most of the photos are good in terms of
documentation.

Jesse

>Hey all-
>
>Anya Illes and I hiked Ptarmigan Ridge (near Table Mountain where
>many sightings have been this year) looking for White-tailed
>Ptarmigan. While we struck out on Ptarmigan, we had spectacular
>looks at several groups of Sooty Grouse totaling 12 birds, along the
>first mile of trail below Table Mountain. While I've heard this
>species a few times, I've never seen it, and it was great to get up
>close looks of so many birds. We were able to see clearly both
>males and females, get looks at combs, undertails, tail tips, etc.
>We also hear them chuckling and whining at each other; all three
>groups vocalized a lot, although quietly. We then walked the next
>2.5 miles of Ptarmigan Ridge trail, without any galliforms, sadly.
>There were good numbers of American Pipits about as well as many
>Savannah Sparrows where ever there was grass. Also had a few
>White-crowned Sparrows and a GOLDEN-CROWNED Sparrow - is this early
>for them or are they to be expected now (or at that altitude)?
>
>I have a question for anyone with experience with Sooty Grouse or
>Ptarmigan Ridge. We were NOT anticipating seeing this species in
>this location/habitat. The birds were not out on open scree or
>heath, but in grass and heath close to trees, so I guess it's not
>totally unusual, but the ABA bird-finding guide made no mention of
>this species, and I had thought they were fairly solitary. Is this
>perhaps a post-breeding dispersal up-slope to feeding areas? (The
>birds were foraging on the abundant Vaccinium (blueberries), as were
>we).
>
>Also, does anyone have any tips on discriminating Ptarmigan by call
>from Grouse, given that they seem to occur in somewhat close
>proximity?
>
>Thanks!
>
>Jesse Ellis
>Seattle, WA
>
>
>At 3:26 PM +0000 9/10/06, vogelfreund at comcast.net wrote:
>>====================
>>9/10/06
>>
>>Whew! That was some discussion! I guess my idea that it may have
>>been an Asian bird was just a cop-out on my part.
>>
>>I also recall that juvenile (white) Little Blue Herons in Florida
>>had greenish legs. Usually I didn't pay a lot of attention to
>>flying juveniles; and so I forgot about the rather dark wing tips.
>>
>>But the discussion was an eye opener regarding young Snowy Egrets!
>>
>>So let me slink away...
>>
>>Phil Hotlen
>>Bellingham, WA
>>---------------------------
>>_______________________________________________
>>Tweeters mailing list
>>Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>>http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>
>
>--
>Jesse Ellis, Ph. D. candidate
>Neurobiology and Behavior
>jme29 at cornell.edu
>111 Mudd Hall
>Cornell University
>Ithaca, 14853
>_______________________________________________
>Tweeters mailing list
>Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters


--
Jesse Ellis, Ph. D. candidate
Neurobiology and Behavior
jme29 at cornell.edu
111 Mudd Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, 14853

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or
that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
public." --Theodore Roosevelt

"The Inuit language for 10,000 years never had a word for robin, and
now there are robins all over their villages."
--John McCain, on global warming
--
Jesse Ellis, Ph. D. candidate
Neurobiology and Behavior
jme29 at cornell.edu
111 Mudd Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, 14853

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or
that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
public." --Theodore Roosevelt

"The Inuit language for 10,000 years never had a word for robin, and
now there are robins all over their villages."
--John McCain, on global warming