Ptarmigan are inhabitants of the alpine tundra that high country backpackers often encounter, because of the bird's reluctance to fly.

These large grouse-like birds prefer to walk or run away when approached. When they move it seems that they have suddenly appeared out of a granite or alpine grass and flower landscape, because they are so well-camoflauged in their habitat.

In a few weeks the Ptarmigan will began mixing their mottled brown with a few new white feathers, to match the periodic snowstorms that will start falling on September tundra. It has been reported than Ptarmigans know they are vulnerable during the changing seasons when they are and tend to "remain on the periphery of snowbanks during the spring and fall moults, in a half-and-half environment that matches their neither-nor plumage" according to Ann Zwinger and Beatrice Willard in their excellent book about alpine tundra ecology: "Land Above the Trees."

Ptarmigan's are monagomous, keeping their partner for life in most cases, like 90% of all bird species. (source : The Birder's Handbook, Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye, 1988, p 597) This is amazing considering the birds separate into male and female flocks during the winter months, with the male groups staying in higher altitudes on wind-swept snowless tundra. The females retreat to the lower alpine, spending the winter in willow thickets. Zwinger and Willard write that when spring comes, Ptarmigan pairs that are bonded for life incredibly find each other once more.

Ptarmigan are one of the few birds that have feet modified into avian snowshoes. In the winter they develop dense feathers on both sides of their feet, and their claws become longer. Their feet function much the way snowshoes aid people, and increase the bearing surface of the foot by aproximately 400 percent!!

Population densities of Ptarmigan can fluctuate greatly from year to year, much like their alpine and northern region companions, the snowshoe hair. This must be a period of high Ptarmigan levels in the part of the Rockies I backpacked the week of August 11, as it seemed as I saw Ptarmigan's everywhere, including walking in front of me on the lakeside boulder I was fishing from!

These birds acted like they do not encounter people much, and watched me and my border collie like they were more curious than fearful. They usually allowed me to approach to within a dozen feet or so before they were inclined to walk away. One group of 4 or 5 Ptarmigan's, which was probably a pair and their young of this year, stood frozen with their eyes on my dog who was only 15 or 20 feet away from him. He obeyed my command to 'leave it' and just stared at them until him and I continued on down the alpine slope, leaving the Ptarmigan to their tundra wanderings for Bistort bulblets and Willow shoots.

The advantage of staying for days on a high mountain is that you become familiar with the local inhabitants of the region, like the Ptarmigan. You also get a better feel for the changing moods and beauty of the mountain country, such as the perfect reflection of a mountain in a blue lake, the simple elegance of alpine wildflowers (gentian, paintbrush, claytonia, bistort), the pure clean feel of the air on a 6am August frost, watching a white trail of meteor fade away into the alpine stars.