August 26, 2014
Dusky Grouse, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

This is what happens when you're patient and persistent. Yesterday morning I found this Dusky Grouse or Blue Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) hen along the side of the road keeping an eye on her four almost-grown chicks. She was in the short grass on the shoulder and would occasionally move far enough away from the road so that I could shoot her without any of the road showing. After a while, another car pulled in behind me and two people got out to watch the grouse. Of course the grouse weren't happy with the new arrivals, and the hen moved further from the road and partially down into the ditch. I watched and waited. The other people left, but by this time the hen had gone up the far side of the ditch and was among much taller grass that was a bad environment for photography. I watched and waited some more. Then she climbed up on a downed tree trunk which was slightly better, but there was still lots of tall pieces of grass between me and her. Then she had the brilliant idea to climb up on this nice perch out in the open! I quickly moved to get a clean background and had a blast shooting her.