Dusky Grouse

I never heard of a Dusky Grouse until I encountered one earlier this week when the group I was with decided to make a bathroom stop at the Madison Campground in Yellowstone National Park.  It was there that I encountered this amazing bird for the first time. We returned a day later to the same area and I decided to go looking for it again when I found it hiding in a tree near the same spot. It was very cooperative and seemed to enjoy the photo shoot.

Dusky Grouse, formerly known as the Blue Grouse,  winter at high elevations in conifer stands. In early spring, they descend to lower altitudes, where they prefer forest edges and openings. Broods may be found quite far from timber during summer and early fall.

This image was taken with my Canon EOS 7D Mark II using a Canon EF 600mm f/4 IS Mark III that I rented from LensRentals. The camera was set on Manual mode with the aperture set at f/4, shutter speed at 1/250th of a second and the ISO set at 400. I hand-held the camera for this image. This is a single image processed in Lightroom and completed in Photoshop using Nik Color Efex Pro.

You can access my Yellowstone NP/Grand Teton NP collection by clicking here. Please use the section below to post your comments, questions or suggestions.

© 2020 T. Kahler Photography

PS: Please don’t reply to this message as it will not reach me. Either post a comment or forward your response to my email address (terry@tkahler.com).