I helped out the Forest Service with a ptarmigan survey on Granada Pass March 10th. It was a gorgeous day and although there was snow on the ground, I actually was getting hot. We had to snow shoe in through, at times, waist deep snow. I left the house at 4AM and didn't get back until after 8PM, but it was worth it . . . I had a lot of fun. We spotted 10 birds in the group I was in. They let you get very close to them because they rely on camouflage for protection from predators.
However, on a side note when at high elevation with snow on the ground, make sure you put sunscreen on every where. I thought I did a good job, but apparently I missed my eyelids, which got burnt and swollen. Nothing terrible, but I'll probably wear sunglasses next time.
Can you see the ptarmigan in this picture?
1) If i knew what a Ptarmigan was I might be able to see it in the picture. When I first read the blog post title, I thought it was the name of a hiking trail but context clues are now telling me otherwise.
ReplyDelete2) Swollen eyelids? Rats. You might need to post a picture of that on the blog. I need an example of what can happen if sunscreen isn't properly applied ;)