Winter flying

[Richard Flanders]

I went back down to camp on the 14th to see if I could find a grouse I figured was living around a trailhead on the edge of the airstrip. I had a pretty good idea where to look for him and took snowshoes and my 24" PHE16 along. Took me less than 5 minutes to flush him from a roost along the trail. Didn't get a shot, but that was fine. It was a win-win day for me and the bird and I won't bother him again. I had figured out where hung out and had a good idea where to look for him and I was right - The bird was smart enough to flush soon enough that I had no shot, so we both won. It was a good hunt for me and I was happy to let him go and saluted him as he disappeared amongst the large spruce trees. I also found his roost and his grit mine, where he clearly spends a lot of time. His roost told a story. I think he started out back in under the tree then moved out into the open a bit more to get more sun as he snoozed, as the sun would be to the left/south in the picture and low in the sky. I've had them do that in my yard before; one moved twice as the sun moved across the sky. It was a very good day.