Willow Ptarmigan Alberta

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Brutus

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West of most places....and in Alberta
With last years recent changes to game bird regulations here in Alberta, willow ptarmigan (500 zones) are on a later season than most grouse species.
I can only guess that one would have to be in the Wood Buffalo region to even see these bird species??

Any insight fellas?

curious...........
 
Wilow ptarmigan, sometimes at least, migrate hundreds of miles in the fall, to get to a suitable winter range. In the area I was familiar with, north of the Prince Albert-Nipawin line, not every year, but some years, they would migrate in the winter to the northerly fringe of farm land in this area. Some years they even wintered south of this railway line, in more or less solid farm land.
I have no idea if they still do, but it is an interesting subject and I will contact a person, who's family has lived in the area since depression days, to see if they still come south in the winter.
Maybe northeern Alberta is similar and they have given the locals a chance to shoot some in the winter.
 
Thank you H4831. I should have guessed that yourself would have had some knowledge on this subject. Another reason I ask, is that I very well might have bumped into one this fall. To my untrained eyes this rather large brownish colored grouse, I thought it was a hen spruce grouse and gave it a pass. The unusual size is what really baffled me as this bird was as large as a small chicken IMHO. Of course I did not have my camera with me that day. Regarding thier yearly hit or miss travelling habits, game biologists have a twenty dollar name for that friend: "Irruptive" I just learned that last night while reading up on this upland bird species.

Cheers.........
 
Willow Ptarmigan vary year by year how far south they will travel. Sometimes the difference can be hundreds of miles. I'm not sure why that is and if the weather or snowfall further north is some kind of a factor.
 
I have seen them in summer plumage on the fisher creek road off of hi way 41 north of La corey and south of there in the winter.
 
I think I did see one hen willow ptarmigan very early on in the season. (zone 514) It was brownish with black spots. I was not close enough to see if it had the reddish comb over the eye. Viewing online pictures now, it certainly appeared to be a this ptarmigan in it's summer coat. I wish I knew that then. Are they a bit larger than spruce grouse? This one was, and that confused me somewhat.

Thanks for the imput guys! There's not much on our hunting forums regarding this bird.
 
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It's the size you mention that bothers me, because actually, they are a small grouse size.
Here's an old picture of a young H4831, with three ptarmigan I shot in northern BC.
B097-2.jpg
 
I lived and worked in the High Level AB area for a few years. I did a lot of grouse hunting while there. ( my wife calls it "taking the shotgun for a walk") I managed to take numerous ruffed grouse, sharp tails, spruce grouse and a couple ptarmigan. I was surprised that the ptarmigan were quite large. They were probably mature birds that had survived 2 or 3 seasons.
My old Lab busted a covey of them. All of the stars and planets aligned and the hand of the creator intervened. The first bird broke cover and presented a shot quartering hard to the left. As it fell to earth the rest of the covey errupted from the bushes and a nice straightaway shot was also made. Those 2 ptarmigan are the most memorable of any birds I have taken in over 30 years of hunting. It was the first time I ever made a double. They were the only ptarmigan I encountered in the area. If I recall it was in early October or very late September. The birds were still in summer plumage.
 
H4831, ptarmigan are long gone from the Prince Albert / Nipawin area of central Sask, I have ice fished that region for more than 30 years and have never seen one. My brother did come across one north of Deschambault Lake a couple years ago in February, the only one I have ever heard of that far south. They are still common in the far north.
 
Longwalker said:
H4831, ptarmigan are long gone from the Prince Albert / Nipawin area of central Sask, I have ice fished that region for more than 30 years and have never seen one. My brother did come across one north of Deschambault Lake a couple years ago in February, the only one I have ever heard of that far south. They are still common in the far north.
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The ptarmigan just came in the winters and not every year.
We lived about ten miles NW of Love in war time. I drove a big dog to school and one Saturday I was going to visit friends four miles way, on a little used trail. The dog was pulling me on my sleigh, when, with their harsh crackle, a ptarmigan flew out of the snow ahead. One by one they took off as we approached, always bursting from the deep snow making their loud noise and startling the dog. He was a well trained dog, but eventually he couldn't take it any more and he tore right into the willows, after one that had taken off especially close to him.
I don't know if you would know where Waterview school used to be, but it was 2 1/2 miles south of Love. In more recent years a friend told me that some years the ptarmigan wintered south of Waterview, probably as far south as the Whitefox River.
 
I just got back from Grande Prairie and saw a few north of High Level up by the NWT border. There are two types of Ptarmigan; willow and rock. One is smaller, pure white with a red eye band. The other is quite a bit larger, cream colored against pure white snow, and no eye band. Both are beautiful but WAY over rated as table fare.
 
Willow ptarmigan are very similar in size to spruce grouse here on the East Coast. They are not underrated as tablefair, not by a long shot!

Out this way they are usually 100% winter plumage by early to mid December.

Hunting willow ptarmigan on the barrens of NL is my favorite activity. 9 more months until the season opens. :(
 
sahara said:
There are two types of Ptarmigan; willow and rock. One is smaller, pure white with a red eye band. The other is quite a bit larger, cream colored against pure white snow, and no eye band. Both are beautiful but WAY over rated as table fare.
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I need to point out that there are THREE types of Canadian Ptarmigan. I had the opportunity to hunt white tailed Ptarmigan on the mountaintops of NW BC a couple of years ago. They live in the high alpine only, and very few people bother to hunt them. They are the smallest of the three species. I love the country where they live, and I like the way they taste, I will be back!
My old Pudelpointer "Bear" hunting white tailed Ptarmigan
P1040679.jpg

And the first one I ever got, with an old prewar Sauer drilling 16x16/8x57JR
P1040690.jpg
 
H4831 said:
The ptarmigan just came in the winters and not every year.
We lived about ten miles NW of Love in war time. I drove a big dog to school and one Saturday I was going to visit friends four miles way, on a little used trail. The dog was pulling me on my sleigh, when, with their harsh crackle, a ptarmigan flew out of the snow ahead. One by one they took off as we approached, always bursting from the deep snow making their loud noise and startling the dog. He was a well trained dog, but eventually he couldn't take it any more and he tore right into the willows, after one that had taken off especially close to him.
I don't know if you would know where Waterview school used to be, but it was 2 1/2 miles south of Love. In more recent years a friend told me that some years the ptarmigan wintered south of Waterview, probably as far south as the Whitefox River.
Click to expand...

Bruce, i have spent quite a bit of time traveling in the Whitefox / Love area during the winter over the last 30 years, and have never seen a Ptarmigan. Nice to hear that there are a few still around! My son was commercial fishing north of Amisk lake / flin Flon area two winters ago and he heard that sometimes there were a few wintering just north of them, but reports were never good enough for me to mount a "campaign" and go get 'em. It is one of my goals, the only Saskatchewan game bird that I have not yet taken, with the exception of the wood duck.
 
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