We finished skiing last Sunday at Brundage, gathered up Hank from his ski team, loaded the car in the very busy parking area, and headed back to the cabin. I had not gone a block when Megan shouted, “look at that bird.” I assumed it was a joke, ok, I will bite, what bird. Perched on the truck bed next to us was that beautiful bird. Get a picture I encouraged, the window was rolled down as we stopped and Megan took a few pictures, expecting the bird to fly off at any moment. The bird remained in his new environment as calm as if we were not there. So what is that creature? None of us were sure but we think we know. It is Bonasa umbellus, or commonly called a Ruffed Grouse.
A bit of research led us to the grouse family and the picture and distinctive crest and neck ruffs provided confirmation. The bird is a medium sized grouse living in forests across North America from the Appalachians thru the west and into Canada and Alaska. The bird is often confused with a partridge whose varieties tend to live in open areas rather than woodlands. The ruffed grouse is the state bird of Pennsylvania. If you hear them called a drummer or thunder chicken that may be our grouse. The bird is chunky and have two distinct morphs (colors), grey and brown. The bird in our photo is brown-morph with a variegated pattern and has white markings on wings and tail. In a clever trick of nature the male and female are very difficult to tell apart. If you get close enough the female may have only one white dot on their rump feathers while the male may have multiple dots.
The bird is an omnivore, eating buds, leaves, berries, seeds and insects. Well camouflaged in their chosen habitat provides protection from predators and hunters. The birds also bury themselves in the snow for warmth, water, and safety. If the snow is disturbed they fly. I am theorizing our bird was disturbed by the ski school snow diggers or the snow plows or slope groomers and it was gaining its bearings before its retreat.
Like the grouse must adapt to its environment, each of us is faced with similar challenges. The past day has seen an invasion of a sovereign nation by Russia. I am encouraged and thankful that the leadership in the United States has rebuilt confidence and trust with the NATO alliance. It is a temptation to just turn off the news and hope it all goes away. The “head in the sand” approach cannot work as the world faces authoritarian leaders who are very comfortable and adept are spreading misinformation and lies.
If Allies can pull together to protect the rights of a sovereign nation maybe there is hope we can take the same enlightened and aggressive approach to global warming.
My thoughts go out to the Ukrainian people. Take good care. Mike