The conference in Canada was great fun, and I got the chance for a bit of birding, accumulating 114 species, and 7 lifers in the end. Without wishing to distract too much from my story of Brisbane birding, here are some pics.
White-tailed Ptarmigan. After a three hour hike to the summit of Flatiron Mountain, I flogged around all afternoon but couldn’t find any ptarmigan. Instead of sensibly going back down and sleeping in the car overnight, I just lay on the tundra and slept overnight on the mountain. I woke up shivering a few times, but was rewarded in the morning when a covey of six birds gave brilliant views!
Sooty Grouse – roadside birds in the early morning along Blackwall Road in E C Manning Provincial Park.
Spruce Grouse – another boreal forest speciality, this female gave great views on the loop trail at Strawberry Flats, E C Manning Provincial Park.