Christine's walking & birds blog

I watched as they made their way up the hill until they were approaching the realms of the ptarmigan.....

.....and then I had to get back in the car and warm up. I'd taken my gloves off to operate the camera and my hands were freezing cold, while my lower back had stiffened from standing in one position for so long. Stepping outside for a last look, I could no longer see the grouse. 

They were too dark to be ptarmigan, but I'm not sure if they were red or black grouse; we've seen all three on hill-walks here. In one shot a tail looks rather long (but not long enough for a male black grouse) with a shallow notch - which argues for female black grouse. In another shot, viewing the birds from behind, both seem to show the little raised bumps on their heads which would be combs - which argues for male red grouse. And in yet another shot, both tails appear quite short! With such poor pictures, I don't think I'll ever be able to say for sure - although I reckon they're more likely to be red grouse. I estimate they were about a kilometre away, and had reached an altitude of roughly 500 metres. Despite the enjoyment I derived from watching them, I couldn't help thinking how conspicuous they would be to a passing eagle, and wondered why they were so high up when food might be easier to get at on the lower moors, where the snow cover was more patchy.