wildlife wednesday — dusky grouse
By Andy Ames
In the Estes Valley, May is a great time to view the Dusky Grouse. After wintering near tree line in Douglas Fir and Lodgepole Pine forests, males descend to lower elevations to establish breeding territories which they may vigorously defend. Females may form groups during the winter but are solitary or accompanied by their young the rest of the year. Nests are built on the ground in a scrape lined with soft materials and protected by cover of rock or shrub. They lay an average of 8 eggs and after a 4 week incubation period the chicks are hatched — feathered and ready to go (with mom, males play no role in nest building or raising young).
While usually quiet and secretive, both females and males can be bold and aggressive. Females in defense of their young and males in defense of their breeding territory, as I recently found out. Lesson learned? Never turn your back on a Dusky Grouse!
Male Dusky Grouse adamantly defending his breeding territory. He escorted me along the trail for a good quarter of a mile. The next week I encountered him in the same area. This time he was a little more aggressive, attacking me whenever I turned my back.
By mid-May males are in their full mating display with brightly colored eye brows and inflated red air sacs on the neck. Impressive!
Dusky Grouse chicks are born with downy feathers. Within a day they are able to follow their mother for foraging and after a week are able to fly short distance. Young are fully grown by fall and independent by winter.
The proud mother. Females tend to be browner than males and may have a dull yellow eye brow just over the upper front portion of the eye. Both males and females have feathered legs down to their toes.
Dusky Grouse primarily forage on the ground for plants and insects during the summer. If startled they often fly in a burst to a tree for refuge. During the winter they often burrow in the snow for insulation during the night and feed on needles of coniferous trees during morning and evening.