Sharp-tailed grouse, Fairbanks, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 500mm f/4L IS, 1/320 sec. @ f/4, ISO 800 (This frame is cropped to show better detail of the bird)
A few days ago when I left my home for a trail run through the boreal forest, I saw a grouse in my front yard. But not the usual grouse, i.e. spruce or the roughed grouse, both commonly observed. But this one looked a little different. It was a sharp-tailed grouse, which has been seen in the Fairbanks area by friends, but this is my first sighting in 30 years of living in Alaska. And I’ve now photographed all three grouse in the boreal forest directly surrounding my home. I like having neighbors like this, along with moose, fox, hares, ptarmigan, black bears and lynx, although the latter I’ve seen only in a fleeting glance and did not have a photographic opportunity. Below are photos of the other two grouse species taken near my home.
Ruffed grouse feeds in Quaking aspen tree, Fairbanks, Alaska
Male spruce grouse in boreal forest, Fairbanks, Alaska
