After last week’s blog interview with my dad and his official work with several species of grouse, I remembered having shot some footage in 2009 of Ruffed Grouse males on display. Melissa did a great job editing this footage many years ago into the 3-minute clip below. I think you’ll find the bird behavior fascinating.

I think you might also find the human aspect of this fascinating too, especially if you’ve been reading the blog. The setting of this video is my wife’s parents’ house in northern Minnesota in late April or early May. We, along with my parents, were there to celebrate our niece Mya’s 2nd birthday. I want you to watch/listen for two things: 1) About halfway through you will hear Evan’s tiny 2-year-old voice ask, “Is dat Mourning Dove?” and 2) You will see a shot of Grandpa Rick holding Evan on his lap as we are watching Ruffed Grouse out the window – a wonderful shot that foretells our adventures today as the Team.

Can anyone identify the bird that makes a loud chirping sound in the beginning of the video?  You can even see the bird, but it is too far away to ID.  I have identified one of the other bird sounds on the video as the Red-Breasted Nuthatch.