White-tailed Ptarmigan Alpine Camouflage

            I photographed this White-tailed Ptarmigan up at the tree line over Mackenzie, BC last summer - you have to really be paying attention to spot them - they blend right in to landscape.

I am always particularly amazed at the ability of large ground birds like grouse, partridge, or in this case, ptarmigan to disappear in plain sight.  Just last weekend I flushed a bright red and white Willow Ptarmigan (that I didn't see, despite it being only a few meters away) - it flew ~40m away.  Despite seeing exactly where it went, I couldn't relocate it for a photograph - it completely disappeared in the scrubby alpine shrubs.

Art Wolfe published an interesting book a few years back called "Vanishing Act - The Artistry of Animal Camouflage" - it's not your typical wildlife coffee table book, but more of a "Where's Waldo" for naturalists - worth checking out.

Taken in: Canada / British Columbia / Mackenzie / Mackenzie (show map)

Taken on: August 22, 2019

Tags:

White-tailed

Ptarmigan

Lagopus leucura

Mackenzie

British Columbia

Morfee

Morfee Mountain

Alpine

Summer

Birds

Jeff Dyck « less

Sets appears in: • Out and About in Northern British Columbia • Upland Game Birds

Camera: Canon EOS-1D X, f/8.0, 1/1250 sec, 800mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS-1D X
Lens:	EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1250)
Focal Length:	800mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 9.1 (Windows)
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