Spruce Grouse in Riding Mountain National Park

One of the Spruce Grouse's primary defenses against predators is the disruptive coloration of its plummage, tricking the eye and enabling the bird's shape to blend with its surroundings.  In addition to this camouflage, the grouse instinctively stops, remaining perfectly still in the presence of a predator.  This behavior makes them very hard to see!  

Christian Artuso, our guide while bird and mammal watching at Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, was an expert at spotting birds, both finding them as he was driving and recognizing them by sight, movement and sound.  He spotted six Spruce Grouse on the edge of the road, a very exciting moment, a bird high on my list.

We all piled out of the truck with our cameras as the birds scattered into the forest or the spruce branches on either side of the road.  Divided, they were alert and wary but did not leave the vicinity of their flock mates.

Above a male walks alertly toward the forest, and below a female sits motionless under a spruce.  If you did not know she was there, she would disappear, blending completely into the browns and grays around her.

Spruce Grouse are specialist birds that live in the northern coniferous forests, usually in remote areas, feeding on spruce and pine needles much of the year.

Our behavior giving them little reason for alarm, the birds that had flown to tree limbs, one-by-one, flew down to the ground to re-join their flock mates.  Since they seemed to be in no hurry, and even pecked at the ground around them, we, in our separate places, slowly followed.

Walking into the forest with Spruce Grouse is magical.  The thick spruce and pine needles blocked and silenced the relentless wind that had been blowing at 40 mph since our arrival.  Dense piles of peat moss and needles cushioned the forest floor so that with each step, it felt like my feet were sinking into pillows.  Even more fascinating, the grouse returned to foraging and we found ourselves walking along side them as they plucked berries and rose hips from their stems.

An example above and below, of how the female's brown, black and white markings enable her to blend right into the stems and grasses of her habitat.  Without movement, she becomes a clump of dried grass.

This is the third in a series of posts on my journey to Churchill, Manitoba to see Polar Bears including a visit to Riding Mountain National Park.
Also visit my post on the Gray Jays we encountered in RMNP:  Gray Jays--Smart, Bold, Resourceful!

More about Spruce Grouse
Camouflage and disruptive coloration in bird plumage.
Christian Artuso's blog
Riding Mountain National Park
Mooswa Resort
Learn about Polar Bears