We are now in a do not pass Go, do not collect $2000 straight line to Christmas. We made it through the day we give thanks for what we “have”, quickly followed by the US tradition of stomping/clawing/punching/gouging/insulting and other equally rude behavior to get all the things we “don’t have”. The irony in the juxtaposition speaks volumes for our society. Luckily, we checked out of that scene many years ago. It is time to haul out the red and green decor and have the annual discussion with the boys that Santa “is” allowed to come down our chimney that one night of the year – excessive barking could result in a stocking full of coal. Note, last year Ruger responded with “Screw it, that fat sooty ass is mine!” (now that is a cocky puppy who knows what list he’s already on ha). Ruger has been (slightly) better this year so we’ll see how he reacts to the home intrusion. He does give a perfect lead in to today’s post from Brad. Continuing the game bird theme, here’s another one of his intriguing adventures.
Take it away Brad…
One thing I didn’t expect to be doing was standing in line at a National Park to experience the scenery. But that’s just what happened at one area of Yosemite. While Jan and I were waiting for our turn to get a photo of Yosemite Falls without a million tourists in our way (not much of an exaggeration on a late summer Saturday), we began chatting with the family next to us. They had been in the park for a few days and were heading out the next day. The gentleman said since we were just starting our visit, we must make sure to head to Glacier Point before leaving the park. Often times advice is worth just what you pay for it. However, this advice turned out to be pure gold. He also said to make sure we were there before sunset for the best view.
Late one afternoon, later into our visit we began the drive to Glacier Point overlooking Yosemite Valley. Jan and I, OK really just me, didn’t anticipate the number of cars also heading the same direction. We were in a minor traffic jam inside the park. Luckily for us, most of the cars were shooting right past the turnoff for Glacier Point. I felt glad to be free of the taillights in front of us. But my shoulders slumped a bit when I saw a sign for “only” 16 more miles of twisty roads. The first mile was all switchbacks, but from mile two to the summit was a smooth ribbon of newly paved asphalt with gentle curves. Jan and I arrived at the summit with time to spare before sunset.
I parked the rental car in one of the few spaces I could find near summit. The elevation was over 7,200 feet for those keeping score at home. Jan and I began the quick walk to the point to see Yosemite Valley from a completely different perspective. A few feet into the journey, there was a group of people looking over a fence into some low scrub brushes. That usually means there’s something worth taking a peek at.
Hit the jump to read about the fruits of the peek!
Most of the tourists were glancing at the birds for a second or three, and then resuming their scurry to the point to see the scenery. One family was hanging around, watching. They were nice enough to make room for us to take a few photos. Fully aware the sunlight was obscured by clouds before we arrived, the award-winning scenic photos we hoped to get were no longer possible. The dad in the other group, was telling me that the bird was either a Sooty Grouse, or a Rock Ptarmigan. The gentle cooing noises were not loud enough for Merlin to identify our new photo subject.
I had to wait until we got back to the 1G mobile service in the lodge to be able to identify this bird. I was hoping it might be a Ptarmigan, a first for Intrigued, I think. But after checking the range maps, this was the only bird like it possible for the area. And since there were young ones nearby, I figured it was not a migrating bird, but one that was supposed to be there. Turns out, this is a family of Sooty Grouse, another +1 for this trip.
This female had her brood nearby. While she was in the open, the younglings were sticking close to the foliage as the light faded.
To the casual observer, she is trying to look coy by hiding behind grass. Actually, the grass was in the way and we couldn’t move for a better photo. But the first excuse sounded better
I was beginning to get the impression the paparazzi (us) were becoming a bit much for the birds. But they never really retreated very far before moving right back where they started. Must be an obscure grouse ritual when cameras are involved. The Sootys certainly didn’t seem to mind all of the foot traffic a mere ten feet away from them.
The Sooty Grouse is the third largest grouse in North America. Most species of birds have ten tail feathers; the Sooty can have between 15-22 tail feathers. Sorry, we did not get to see the full display. Plus, there were no male grouse around to offer a full display. Sooty Grouse spend most of their day resting and feeding, foraging on the ground for insects. Populations are declining slightly with no obvious causes outside of known habitat loss areas, which puts the Sooty Grouse on the Watch list. The female will lay 5-10 eggs and incubate them for 25-28 days. Chicks usually leave the nest within a few days of hatching and follow mom around fending for themselves and learning how to be a Sooty Grouse. The chicks are able to make short flights on their own at 8-9 days, and full grown at 13 weeks. The chicks we saw were not quite full grown and were still hanging around with mom.
We eventually left the Sooty Grouse family to their nighttime rituals and went to see what we could still see. Some of the clouds cleared for just a few moments. This is what we were able to see.
Now I know why we were told to be there before sunset. Hard to plan for clouds though.
On the way back down the mountain after enjoying the sunset at an overlook, Jan and I had another surprise. The headlights on the rental car didn’t work. At all. Oh sure, the daytime running lights were on, but they were about as efficient as a candle in the wind (apologies to Sir Elton John). I learned that if I held on the bright light lever, I could have some lights, but the blinkers would turn on and off sporadically. Good thing there were a few cars in front of us to help guide us down the mountain.
Thank you for reading. If you want to see more Sooty Grouse photos, please visit here.
Credits:
Thanks again to Jan for proofreading and editing. Thanks to Jan for some of the photos in this article.
Life Intrigued 