Tail Signals from a Spruce Grouse!

I walked out of the woods and stood on the edge of the road, checking to see if any of the grouse remained in the spruce limbs.  Billie quietly alerted me, "A female just walked down to the road."  

I looked around and found her standing perfectly still, only about five feet away on a little mound of dirt and dead grass. As I mentioned in the previous post, Spruce Grouse are well camouflaged.

She clearly saw me before I saw her.  Look at the feathers standing up on her crown!  Such an intimate moment.  I enjoy observing a bird's behavior so closely.  Even though this would not be considered a "wild" interaction, she most definitely is responding to my presence, or a threat.

I stood still, but of course, raised my camera and began clicking away.  I suppose if one intends to walk away, turning your back makes sense, but that isn't all she did.  She partially fanned her tail--

--fanning one side and then the other, in alternating fashion, as she slowly walked back toward the woods to join her companions.  I wondered if the tail feathers made sounds that the birds could hear, but we couldn't.  I also wondered who the signals were intended for and what they meant.  It is possible that this is a nervous behavior, but it seemed more deliberate.  I wasn't able to find any information about this in Birds of North America, my resource for bird behavior.

I paused my camera and just followed her slowly as she re-entered the forest.  At this point I was in a different area from my own companions, and I found myself among six foraging Spruce Grouse!  I lingered until they disappeared in the brush and walked deeper into the woods.  

They were all foraging, and slowly moving, so quietly--alert, but unhurried.  A special wildlife encounter.

While visiting Riding Mountain, we enjoyed breakfast and a couple of dinners at the Fox Tail Cafe in Wasagaming, the nearest town.  Don't miss this fun cafe if you are in the area!

Fresh ingredients, cheerful, welcoming atmosphere, homemade breads, generous crisp salads and a nice selection of main dishes with pizzas served hot from the open oven shown above.

Photo credit for Foxtail images:  Foxtail Facebook page 

This is the fourth post in a series on my journey to Churchill, Manitoba, to see Polar Bears including a visit to Riding Mountain National Park.  To see all the posts click the journey to Churchill link. The most recent post will appear first.  When you reach the end of the page, click "older posts" to continue.

Next:  Moose!

Christian Artuso's blog
Riding Mountain National Park
Learn about Polar Bears

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