Reply-to: "james.d.mcintyre" <james dot d dot mcintyre at worldnet dot att dot net>
Sender: owner-birdtalk@utahbirds.org
I've seen Blue Grouse right under the Gad chair at Snowbird
in winter and also walking down from Hidden Peak in the fall along Chip's
Run. Also Pine Grosbeak. Rosy Finches on Speculator Johnson in the
Spring.
On Monday I was skiing in the blizzard at Snowbird.
(Oh, it was some fine snow, nice and deep, and light. Very
nice...) While riding up Wilbur chairlift I saw a single grouse in
an evergreen tree adjacent to the chair-lift. I noticed it due to
its distinctive "woomphing" sound when it flapped its wings. I've
seen one or two of them on rare occasions over the years up Little
Cottonwood Canyon. From looking at Sibley I would say the Blue
Grouse most closely resembles what I saw. It was definitely a
grouse, due to size and general coloring. Looking at the
illustrations in Sibley, on page 143 (first edition, second printing),
it most closely resembled the upper right adult "grey-brown and speckled
overall." The one I saw was not as dark as the Pacific or Interior
variety. Can anyone give me some feedback on if Blue Grouse is
indeed the most likely identification of grouse common to the Wasatch
Mountains?
(By the way, I've seen a single Ermin a couple of
times this Winter, also at Snowbird.)