This morning, I wanted to finish off the last few photos taken on a drive south to Turner Valley and Frank Lake. Too many Pine Siskin photos, you say? Ha, I know, but I don't get that many chances to photograph birds, especially fairly close, and there were more Pine Siskins than anything else.

This main photo was taken on a different day, 15 August 2018, when a friend and I drove west of the city to a forested area where we were hoping to find a few fungi. Over the years, I had been out there a number of times and found some interesting species. Everywhere is so hot and so dry here, so I wanted to explore before things become even worse. After seeing a friend's photo of an Amanita muscaria seen there recently, I was really hoping to find one. Well, I found two, but they were dried-up, shrivelled individuals. Still happy to find them, though.

The highlight of our forest walk was suddenly coming across three beautiful Spruce Grouse who were feeding fairly close to the edge of the trail. They were not bothered at all by our presence, giving us a great chance to watch them and take a few photos. They are such beautiful birds and are able to camouflage themselves well while on the ground.

"A bird of coniferous forests, the Spruce Grouse inhabits much of Canada and portions of the northern United States. Inconspicuous and relatively quiet, it feeds largely on the needles of spruces and other conifers.

The Spruce Grouse's crop can store up to ten percent of the bird's body weight in food, to be digested at night. The Spruce Grouse's gastrointestinal organs change with seasonal shifts in diet. In winter, when the bird must eat more food to maintain its mass and energy balance, the gizzard grows by about 75 percent, and other sections of the digestive tract increase in length by about 40 percent." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Spruce_Grouse/overview