To say that I lucked out with timing on March 29th is an understatement! I was so very lucky to come across two of these beautiful Grouse on a snow embankment along the gravel road I drive on to see the owls. One of them was making its way into the trees, but this beautiful female stayed where she was and made a few different poses for me : ) This was the first time I'd ever seen a Spruce Grouse and, though a male would have been amazing, I'm very happy to have seen this female. I saw my very first Mountain Bluebirds of the year that day, too! Always such a thrill to see the very first flash of brilliant blue after the winter months. And there were about 30 very distant Swans on a slough, too - again, my first of the year. Too far away to tell if Tundra or Trumpeter, but most likely to be Tundra. My drive that day was about 225 km, and I was exhausted by the time I got home.