<< Little River Trail

06/27/24 - Olympic Blue Grouse in Mating Plumage

We spotted an Olympic blue grouse not far off the side of the trail. We were looking for avalanche lilies, but this guy was right there taking a dust bath. He fussed about, then rose up lifting his tail feathers like a peacock. We've seen these grouse before, but we've never seen the mating display. Then, we saw his date a bit farther into the woods. The two met up in the shade, so we may be seeing baby grouse later this season.

Dust bath

More dust bath

Rising up

Tail display

Heading off

His mate in shadow

Off in the woods

Keywords: grouse