Day 151: Ruffed Grouse

We saw today's bird, the Ruffed Grouse, crossing the road in front of us in western Maryland. We caught a glimpse of the bird for about five seconds, during which I frantically grabbed the camera from the back seat and tried to capture a photo. Sadly, all I got was a big blur flying away. It was still awesome though, because it was a life bird for me and the first time Jared had physically seen one (he had only heard them before).

We did see another Ruffed Grouse later on, but it was looking a little "stuffed" - ha!

Stuffed Ruffed Grouse at a nature center in western Maryland

The Ruffed Grouse lives in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. They are best known for the drumming sounds produced by the male. The drums are a series of progressively faster thumps produced by air rushing to fill the vacuum created under the wings when they are rapidly flapped in front of the body. The male drums throughout the year, but the vast majority of drumming occurs in spring, presumably to attract females and ward off other males.