Marcus and I saw 15 Sharp-tailed Grouse yesterday at the upper end of Bridgeport Hill Road in the Wells Wildlife Area. It was a life bird for me, after multiple adventures looking for this chicken. We tracked the birds through the snow, then heard them clucking, and then saw them flying up in to a River Birch tree where they were feeding on the buds. It was a beautiful sunny day with no wind and a few inches of snow - 21 degrees F. We saw the birds at approximately 11:15 a.m. We observed the birds for about 20 minutes until they flew up and across the road into the sage brush.

We also saw California Quail and Ring-necked Pheasant in the area - a three chicken day. We saw a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk and a Golden Eagle on the way up the road.

Heather Ballash

Marcus Roening
GSK Oncology - Hematology
Tacoma WA
marcus.d.roening at GSK.com
C: 253-988-8313