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A
Grouse Encounter of the Close Kind
by
Chet Vincent
On Tuesday, January 4, I decided to take a walk on part of the
Harlem Valley Rail Trail and look at birds along the way. On
my way to the Coleman Station parking area I drove on Sharon Station
Road and looked at the McEnroe corn field. I spotted a nice
dark-phase (blue) snow goose among the Canadas, so I considered
myself off
to a good start birding.
At the Coleman Station lot, I decided to
walk south first because I could see and hear chickadees and titmice
in that direction. As I went south looking at
the small birds (a golden-crowned kinglet was with them), I noticed a larger
bird in the middle of the trail several hundred yards farther south. In
my binoculars, I could tell it was a ruffed grouse. I walked closer and
it ran
off the trail
and into the bushes (still a hundred yards away). I thought I might as well go
look and see if I could see the bird up close.
I walked slowly and quietly and
saw it about 20 feet ahead on the east side of the blacktop. As
I was enjoying the closer look, the bird picked buds from small
bushes and ate a few small green leaves while heading towards me. What
good luck, I thought, my best look at a grouse in months. Then the bird
returned
to the
blacktop and walked towards me (amazing!). I stopped using binoculars
when it was about 8 feet away and still coming. It came up to my feet (I
had
been still
for several minutes by now), so I’m looking down at it as it proceeded
to peck at my shoes, jeans, and especially the tabs on the heels of my shoes,
all the time making soft clucking sounds.
After 5-8 minutes of that, I decided
to move my arms and upper body. That didn’t
bother the grouse at all. Its plumage was in beautiful condition, its
crest was up, and the stiff feathers on the sides of its head were flared out
as
it walked
around and around me. I then took several small steps ahead and the bird
jumped up and down, making attack-like moves on my feet with its wings and
beak.
I
tried walking slowly backwards and it just followed quietly, so I went off
the trail a bit and stopped and it still followed me. I began to worry
that the bird would follow me back to the parking area so I walked away quickly
and that
did it. The grouse went into the bushes and I was free.
I didn’t have
a camera or Bill Case with me so no pictures – hard
to believe but a true story. Wings
Over Dutchess, January
2005
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