Ptarmigan Ptrek

Ptarmigan are a bit of a mythical creature within the Vancouver checklist area. Suitable habitat is quite limited and the likelihood of encounter is greatest during the winter months when high elevation snowfall moves these mountain chickens around on adjacent peaks. However, for this same reason, accessibility in to this habitat becomes difficult and few birders make the effort to look for them. The Checklist of the Rare Birds of the Vancouver Area lists 11 records of Rock Ptarmigan and 4 records of White-tailed Ptarmigan, though I have been recently made aware of a couple additional observations of White-tailed Ptarmigan that are unaccounted for on this checklist.

There are enough records that ptarmigan are a possibility and one that I figured needed to be explored during a big year. The traditional approach for local ptarmigan seekers has been a late fall hike following the first snowfall, but our unseasonable winter with hardly any snow prompted me to organize this effort in February. I anticipated this proposition would require the most foolish of birders and would take some convincing still. But to my surprise everyone responded with a resounding “yes” and our group progressively expanded to 16 individuals. I was quite pleased with our group size for these reasons:

• the more eyes looking for these cryptic chickens, the better the chance of success; 
• it would be a fun success to share with a good group of friends; and 
• if some of Vancouver’s most active birders were clambering about mountain peaks with me, they would not be turning up rare birds elsewhere. 

At the start of the day some had remarked that our good luck was used up simply picking a suitable day for a mountain hike two weeks in advance. But we received some encouraging news that suggested otherwise when we stopped some backpackers to ask if they had seen any white chickens. Surprisingly, they said they had (being Australian, they actually said “white dove”) and even showed us an iphone photo of a White-tailed Ptarmigan strutting about their camp site on Mount Seymour!

I had clambered up some rocky outcrop just before pump peak when I heard someone shout “I got it!” from up above. I could see Rob looking at something across a saddle, but could not see the white blob in front of him. This meant it was scampering time. I took the most direct route (not advisable) and got to the peak to find most of the group having lunch with a WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN in front of them.

Chicken ptarmigana for lunch.

Between our group, there was probably over 200 combined years of Vancouver birding experience, and yet this was a new Vancouver bird for everyone but one member of our party! Brilliant views were had before the bird gradually descended down a chute on the back side of the peak, where it would have been invisible had we passed through an hour later. This really put in to context just how lucky we were to come across this chicken.

White-tailed Ptarmigan - 2/15/2015 - Pump Peak, Mount Seymour

"The Ptarmigetters" excited by success and having temporarily forgotten that they still need to get down.

A celebratory coffee was had in North Vancouver where the fine points of how wing-clipped Kakapos gain enclosure ingress were debated, when Daniele noticed a rare bird alert had been issued. To be continued….