Fearless Freddie the spruce grouse

Hey all, sorry I haven't been around much to comment on your cool photos. I've been really busy and have only had time to check in now and then over the last week or so.

I caught this fella feeding and displaying for a few females in sweet light way up the Echo Trail outside Ely, and he of course, being a spruce grouse, didn't care if I was six feet away as long as I didn't make any sudden moves. I spent time with another male like this less than a mile from this spot late last November, and it's possible this is exactly the same guy.

All with the Canon 30D and Canon 100-400L IS, various focal lengths, iso400, f7.1, shutter speeds of 1/400 to 1/800

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Really nice pictures of a neat bird,Steve. Kind of a nice fall feeling about them.

Bob

Looks like a Thankgiving Card Steve, Beautiful Bird. Well Captured

Wow.. those are really great Steve. I second that about the cards..
Great looking bird.. Love the pic's.

Henry

Very nice captures of the spruce grouse, well done Steve.

"Spruce Grouse" .. Very clever...

Nice shots!!

Wow! I didn't know there was such a grouse. Wonderful series!

Great shots Steve. Fearless or just stupid? I think the verdict is still out.

Very good shots. Love the colours in these.

Thanks, everybody.

Mitch, fearless and stupid often are the same thing, eh?

Wow did he ever put on a show for the camera! These are grand Steve! Excellent work.

Excellent captures of a beautiful and colorful bird Steve.

Rich warm colors, crisp sharp details and a beautiful subject... can't get much better than that.

Great shots and great color.

Thanks, you guys. The two tricks about spruce grouse are finding them in an open enough area to get good pics (they like heavy cover) and getting them there in good light. It's really only a matter of spending a lot of time in those settings in young pine and spruce woods, which is where sprucies hang out. If you frequent the light-drenched openings in morning and evening, it'll happen sooner or later.

Hardest part is getting out of a shoot like this without filling all 12 Gb of my cards. I mean, it's a 35-mile drive home, and I'd hate to see a pack of wolves attacking a moose on the way home and me with full CF cards.

Twice I've spent a couple hours within 10 feet of a ruffed grouse, too, wating for the light to get right. Birds knew I was there the whole time and wouldn't flush no matter what I did. Most ruffies are spooky, but once in awhile you get one with no IQ and then it's a shoot-fest.