Getting up early for Ruffed Grouse

A Ruffed Grouse perching. Their habitat is typically a young forest, densely packed with young aspen trees so finding an open spot is challenging.

I am no stranger to getting up at zero dark thirty. But when my alarm goes off at 4 am after not sleeping most of the night, it’s getting harder and harder to drag myself out of bed. I was reminded of this recently when my alarm went off, at 4 am, and I needed to get up to photograph a very special bird, the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus).

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