In the third instalment of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gimli the dwarf delivers the iconic line: “Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?” Gimli’s intrepid, reckless attitude often characterizes the way I approach birding (don’t tell my mum!), which is why, when I heard that Rock Ptarmigan may occur in uber-northern Ontario in the winter with some regularity, I immediately began figuring out how I would go about ticking them off my Ontario list. The question was not if I would get up there, but how and when.
I was first put onto the notion that Rock Ptarmigan (ROPT) was not an impossible Ontario bird when I read the account of Gerry Binsfeld’s, Glenn Coady’s, Karl Konze’s, and Mark Peck’s 2004 trip to the upper Shamattawa River and the mouth of the Winisk River to conduct surveys for the Second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas. The Atlas squares they explored were 16FF07/08 and 16FG12/22 near the old town of Winisk (it has since migrated slightly up river to modern day Peawanuck). At the same latitude as Moscow and located near the mouth of the Winisk River, which flows into Hudson Bay, Peawanuck is the second most northerly community in Ontario. The report cites Nick Mack (guide of Wild Wind Tours out of Peawanuck) who informed the Atlassers that “Rock Ptarmigan occasionally occur in small groups in winter along the coast.” I knew of the 1990 summer records of ROPT in the Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) thanks to eBird data (some have disputed the identification and claim they are WIPT, so take a look at the photo yourself), but many people have eBirded and Atlassed the area after that with no ROPT (in Cree: apistabemish) to speak of. I had seen range maps claiming that a sliver of ROPT’s winter range crept into HBL, but I always thought it was mostly based on conjecture rather than hard evidence. It turns out that there are big gaps in ROPT eBird/Atlas data. The Atlas report led me down a rabbit hole of research, inquiry, and networking, and, almost ten months later (sorry for the belatedness), this is the final product of my research.
Records and Hearsay
To skip to the (kind of) fun part, scroll down to the next subsection. The TLDR version of the following information is that, historically, ROPT occurred in numbers in HBL during certain winters. The only reason I go into so much detail here is because it can’t hurt to have all of what little information there is on this species in Ontario if one is to attempt the nearly impossible by trying to get it for the province. Also, I’m just a little obsessed, and this is fascinating to me. Firstly, I will detail all the information I could find on winter records of ROPT in Ontario. In a 2020 publication of the OFO journal, Vernon G. Thomas published a paper on a 1977-78 study conducted around the Peawanuck area about the diet of Willow and Rock Ptarmigan, and Sharp-tailed Grouse (STGR). Read the full paper here. Below is some important information I gleaned from the paper. “Collections of each [study] species were made by shooting with rifle during the winter months in 1977 (…Rock Ptarmigan, 28 March-15 April) from a region of approximately 1,400 km squared around the community of Peawanuck.” 1,400 km squared is a huge area, but another study by Thomas and Richard Popko using the same data, states that Willow Ptarmigan (WIPT) were collected within a thirty kilometre radius of Winisk. The exact area from which ROPT were collected is not specified in either study, but it can be assumed that they were collected from the same general vicinity as the WIPT, and that ‘1,400 km squared’ merely refers to the general region from which all the study species were collected (the researchers may have had to collect birds from far and wide to supplement study numbers). “Rock ptarmigan in winter condition were collected randomly from large (40-100 birds) flocks that appeared at Winisk (55016' N, 85"12'W), Ontario, from 28 to 30 March 1977, and on 11 April 1977.” “Arctic-breeding Rock Ptarmigan…migrate irregularly…into…[the HBL]…region for the winter months. Their flocks contain a majority of immature and adult females.” The predominance of females in the most southerly reaches of their wintering range (in this case HBL) may be due to food abundance in warmer climes, as suggested by a study conducted on WIPT in Labrador. Females require more food than males to maximize breeding success. In the Thomas/Popko study, it is suggested that “egg production in birds is energetically expensive and very sensitive to nutritional deficiencies.” This secondary study claims that the ROPT that occur in Ontario in the winter are from the southern Baffin Island population, though there is no information in the paper to support said claim. To me, it seems more probable that they come from and return to their breeding populations on Southampton Island or in northern Quebec (yes, ptarmigans can fly over water: check out this astonishing paper!). It was suggested to me by Donald Sutherland that they move down the west Hudson Bay coast from their mainland Nunavut population. Back to the original Thomas paper: “Rock Ptarmigan became abundant during March-April of late winter, based on the timing and number of birds collected randomly.” Thomas indicates that ROPT were collected on March 28-30, 1977 and April 11, 1977, but, while it is stated that they became abundant during these months, it is not specified that they weren’t observed during other periods of the winter. Each of the three grouse species studied were “encountered in flocks of approximately 10-30 birds, and each flock comprised only one grouse species.” The researchers collected at least 54 ROPT and reported flocks of 40-100, but it can be assumed this is a small fraction of the the numbers that occurred in the area. Another amazing resource, which has since seemingly disappeared from the web, boasted a treasure-trove of historical ROPT information. Luckily, I copied all the relevant information before it became inaccessible. What follows is a distillation of said information. (I apologize that I cannot cite it, but unfortunately I never took note of the author’s name.) “[Locals] say flocks [of ROPT] appear on their traplines in winter only, at intervals of six or eight years.” “Mr. Joseph Chokomolin told me that during the hard winter of 1935 his brother killed six small ptarmigan, at the mouth of the Sutton River. He said they all had black feathers between the eye and the bill.” “The winter of 1961-62 was marked by a major flight of both Willow and Rock ptarmigan into the Hudson Bay area of Ontario.” “At Fort Severn, Willow Ptarmigan were extremely abundant in the winter of 1961-62 where many thousands were killed for food by the villagers during the winter. Mr. Close told me that about one in fifty was a Rock Ptarmigan.” “At Winisk, Rock Ptarmigan were also abundant where Mr. Michel Hunter saw flocks ranging from 25 to 60 birds. He reported that they arrived just before Christmas, 1961, and did not leave until the snow began to thaw at the end of March, 1962.” “On the east side of James Bay in Quebec both species of Ptarmigan occur there. The Rock Ptarmigan appear only in winter, coming every year and occasionally in great numbers.” I mapped out a summation of the aforementioned records as well as other records included in the lost paper (see below). In the key below the map, I have italicized the records not mentioned above. The key includes all relevant information provided in the paper.
A)10 miles north of Sherman Lake (54.633333, -91.416667) • winter 1961-62 • 30 birds B) Fort Severn • March 25, 1962 • 3 birds (2 male, 1 female) killed (1964 info) C) Fort Severn • Winter 1961-62 • WIPT ‘many thousands’; ROPT ‘1 in 50’, 3 killed in a day by one person, ~20 killed over the course of the winter by another person
D) Shagamu Lake • winter 1961-62 • 15 ROPT, 100 WIPT E) Winisk airport • 1956-57 • 1 bird
F) Winisk • before Christmas-end of March (snow melt), 1961-62 • flocks of 25-60: “they fed in the willows along the coast and frequently flew out over the sea ice”; one man killed 30-35 ROPT, 60-70 WIPT G) West of the mouth of Winisk River • winter 1961-62 • 2 killed, but more assumed present H) Mouth of Sutton River • winter (apparently a very harsh one) • 1935 • 6 birds I) Cape Henrietta Maria • winter 1960-61, 61-62 • ROPT “occurred regularly”
J) Moosonee • No information was provided on this sighting, but it was pinned on a map (see below) of ROPT records (I believe the article was published pre 1970 (1964?), so you can assume it’s another older historical record)
In summary, it seems that many more people have seen ROPT in Ontario than eBird and Atlas data would suggest. Birders, at least ones who widely publicize their sightings, rarely travel to the Lowlands in the winter, and the people who do see ROPT are mostly residents of Canada’s most isolated communities; it checks out that word of these records spreads at a snail's pace.
I am aware that these are very old records, but, from what I can tell, ptarmigan populations have not taken a significant nose dive since the middle of the Twentieth Century, and irruption events still match the enormity described in historical accounts, so there’s little reason to believe that ROPT don’t occur semi-regularly in the winter in HBL. The only concern I'd have would be that warmer winters mean that the southern reaches of their wintering ranges would not reach HBL as food would be just as accessible farther north. What Nick Mack told Gerry, Glenn, Karl, and Mark means there have at least been a few more good winters for ROPT between 1977-78 (when the Thomas study was conducted) and 2004 (when the Atlas surveys in the Peawanuck area were carried out). I don’t know how much ROPT irruption correlates to WIPT irruption, but the resources I have detailed would suggest quite significantly. This means that there were very likely good numbers of ROPT in HBL in the winter of 2020-21, given that Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario saw a huge southern push of WIPT in that time period. Oddly, I can only find two definitive records of ROPT (one and six individuals, respectively) and one possible record (one individual) in that time period in the aforementioned provinces, though I didn’t dig too deeply into this. Sadly, breeding season research in the Arctic where ptarmigans breed is spotty at best, so it is hard to predict irruption events, and there is no definitive answer as to why their populations see massive irruptions in the first place. It has been theorized that it’s due to food shortages in traditional wintering grounds and/or very successful breeding seasons, which might be the result of plentiful food or reduced numbers of predators. I'm not sure how relevant this is, but I was told by Alvan Buckley that western Newfoundland has seen an irruption of Spruce Grouse this past month, and that Iceland has been hit with a mild influx of 'Greenland' ROPT. Please share if you have any resources/opinions/theories on: the causes/frequency of ptarmigan irruptions, the chance of an irruption this upcoming winter, or the science behind ‘echo irruptions’. If anyone knows of any projects that study or survey breeding populations of ROPT or WIPT, please let me know.
How to Get There and Not Die
Ontario is criss-crossed with a spider web of seasonal roads that are only constructed in the winter. They are made of compacted snow and ice, and almost exclusively provide access to isolated communities that are not reachable by vehicle when it’s warm. At 692 kilometres, the longest winter road in the world is the Wapusk Trail, which begins in Gillam (northeastern Manitoba) and hits three communities that are inaccessible by all season roads: Shamattawa, Manitoba; Fort Severn, Ontario; and Peawanuck. Severn and Peawanuck are accessible by commercial flight all year around (tickets are very pricey). The Wapusk Trail provides a crucial lifeline for transport trucks to deliver supplies to the isolated communities during the winter. Usually, it isn’t functional until early February at the earliest or as late as early March, depending on funding and the weather. It closes once it becomes too warm (usually early April?).
In March, 2020, Buck Miller, Eric Batty, and Ryan Atkins flew from Timmins to Peawanuck and, from there, made their way from one end of the Wapusk Trail to the other…on fat bikes! It took them eight days, tenting their way from start to finish. The trio raised money for True North Aid, which helps Indigenous children (donate here!). The team only saw around fifteen passenger vehicles the whole trip, but they did see five sets of Polar Bear tracks (wapusk is, after all, the Cree word for ‘white bear’), stunning views of the northern lights, and lots of ptarmigan (presumably mostly Willow)! Read Buck’s gripping blogpost about the expedition here.
I have talked to Buck, Eric, Ryan, and a handful of other people who’ve taken the road about how to best tackle it, and it is no surprise that they all suggested that taking any vehicle short of a full-sized SUV or truck would be a fool’s errand. You want a vehicle with a good approach angle, lots of clearance, and four-/all-wheel-drive. Here is a fairly accurate breakdown of the road lengthwise: Gillam-Shamattawa: 189 km (based on the road line I drew on My Maps, which should be very accurate); Shamattawa-Manitoba border: 98 km (also based on the road line I drew on My Maps); Manitoba border-Fort Severn: 210.6 km (based on MNR Winter Road map, as is the following segment distance); Fort Severn-Peawanuck: 191.5 km. Google Maps does not have a road line for the Wapusk, so I have taken the liberty of making one on MyMaps using satellite images to accurately draw the road (check it out here). Also included are pin markers for various habitats (more of that in 'Strategy'). CalTopo does include a road line for the Wapusk that I’ve linked here, but I thought it would be helpful for folks to have it on Google Maps too. Needless to say, one would need a satellite phone along with the appropriate contact information (emergency and otherwise); a CB radio to get a read on oncoming traffic would also be a good safety precaution. Buck told me that if you get caught in a storm, you might have to wait up to three days for a plow to come along. If your vehicle goes off the road or gets stuck, there really isn’t a service for towing passenger vehicles. Transport truck companies will send in tows from time to time if necessary, but, from what I understand, this service is not available for leisure travellers (an MNR pilot told me this). If you get stuck, you have to abandon your vehicle and get choppered out by an MNR helicopter. If you get snowed in, you may have to wait up to three days for the next plow to come by. So it goes without saying that a tow rope, jumper kit, spare battery, shovels, carpets for friction, sand, and salt are all equipment that would be foolish not to bring on such a trip. A firearm (and of course the appropriate license) might be necessary if one is there after February as Polar Bears make their way inland with cubs around March. Male Polar Bears occasionally wander the area looking for food earlier in the winter, but it is not common to encounter one during that period. From what I can tell, there are no motels in Shamattawa, one inn in Fort Severn (the Niska Inn: contact Fort Severn First Nation for information on this), and one Airbnb in Peawanuck. Consequently, it might be necessary to tent or sleep in one’s vehicle. For this, you’ll need a −40°C sleeping bag (these run upwards of $800 CAD) and possibly a winterized tent. You might be able get away with a −24°C bag with lots of extra blankets and stuff, but don’t take my word for it; I really don’t want blood on my hands!
If I were to plan the trip, I’d theorize the cheapest way to do it would be to get together a band of four other crazy people who are as driven and hardy as they come, drive to Gillam, rent a truck from Gillam Rentals (winter rates are as follows: $110/day, $0.25/km, $660/week, 100 free km), and hit the Wapusk, giving yourself about a six day window to get to the end and back, since you can only travel 20-30 km/hour on the road and daylight is limited. Five people would mean you can take turns with two people sleeping in the truck and three people sleeping in the tent (most winter tents fit three people). It’s a thirty-three hour straight drive to Gillam from the GTA (remember, you lose an hour going into Central Time), so if you and your crew tag team the trip taking turns behind the wheel and sleeping, the whole trip, everything included, could be done in nine days. Taking into account gas prices in different parts of the province, and vehicle fuel efficiency, the trip’s rental/gas costs (assuming you take an average small sedan from the GTA to Gillam and back and a full-sized pickup from Gillam to Peawanuck and back) would be ~$2,202–that’s if you own the car already and rent the truck. Your average truck tank holds about 110 L, so you would want to take at least two full tanks worth of gas in jerrycans (that's about eleven 20 L jerrycans). A sat phone plan is about $100 on average for a single month. Keep checking this Manitoba Infrastructure interactive map for road opening information west of the Manitoba/Ontario border, and call the Moose Cree First Nation band office for info about the road along the Ontario stretch. Their number is 705-658-4619; ask for public works. They will be able to provide information on the state of the road. You can also call the band offices of the respective First Nation communities the road runs through: Shamattawa (204-565-2340), Fort Severn (807-478-2572), and Peawanuck (705-473-2554). Another potentially helpful contact is Manitoba Infrastructure for information on the segment of the road in Manitoba. Call 511 in Manitoba; outside the province call toll-free 1-877-627-6237. Try to avoid any time frames with crazy snow fronts, because, as I was saying, getting snowed in might mean losing your vehicle and getting stranded. You’d want a lot of food and water, and probably a camping stove to cook hot food. It goes without saying that you should dress as warmly as you possibly can, as temperatures can feel like −50°C at night in that neck of the woods, and they’re not much better during the day. Snowshoes might come in handy too! Of course, it would be most prudent to only take the trip if there is a ptarmigan irruption (staying on top of Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and northern Ontario reports should alert you to this as early as December).
The Thomas study only recorded ROPT in late March and early April, but this does not mean that they don’t push south earlier in the winter. I'll remind you of a quote from the gone-from-the-web paper I discussed earlier (see the 'Records and Hearsay' subsection): "they arrived just before Christmas, 1961, and did not leave until the snow began to thaw at the end of March, 1962." Frankly, it would be pretty dangerous to take the Wapusk later than March (depending on the year), as the road can thaw to dangerous degrees overnight. So, based on my research, you’d want to go as late in the winter as possible before the road becomes dangerous. You likely wouldn’t see more than eight to ten species of birds per day on the Wapusk Trail, and you very well might not get your target bird, but it would be a very cool trip regardless. You stand a good chance of seeing Arctic Fox and Eastern Grey Wolf, and there’s always the possibility of a Wolverine, however unlikely.
Strategy
According to the Thomas paper discussed earlier, “Each day, Rock…Ptarmigan…emerge from their snow burrows to feed during the early morning and late afternoon.” They often spend most of the day feeding, however, since they have low body reserves of fat during the winter. eBird lists show both species feeding in the late morning and early afternoon with some frequency. The study found that ROPT consumed mainly birch parts, while WIPT consumed mainly willow parts, with little overlap. These flora species usually aren’t found in the same sort of habitats. Therefore, it makes sense that groups of the two ptarmigan species are not often blended, as Thomas observed. Another helpful tidbit from the study: “successive snow accumulation and increasing snow depth elevates feeding grouse into the upper regions of birch and willow vegetation…, increasing the availability of winter food.” Ergo, a snowy winter might be very good for ptarms. The following two quotes are very interesting and potentially quite helpful for targeting ROPT: “Willow predominates along the margins of water courses, whereas birch tends to predominate along the margins of conifer forest and in open fens and bogs;” and the second, from the Thomas and Popko paper “[ROPT] frequents the fens bordering the tree line, feeding principally upon the buds and catkins of dwarf birch.” By examining recent satellite images, one can pick out the aforementioned habitats, and thus deduce where the best food sources for the two species will be. Maybe you could snowshoe around or follow some ptarmigan tracks in the most promising areas (see the ‘Identification’ subsection for a photo of WIPT tracks). It would be wise to try to talk to local hunters in the communities to see if they can lend you any ptarmigan wisdom. Maybe you could find someone to take you off-road in a snowmobile, though I bet the biggest ptarm concentrations are on the road. I have pinned the areas in Ontario where dwarf birch and willow are most likely to occur along the Wapusk Trail (see the MyMaps layer I have created here). The key is included. As you can see, water courses cross the road along the entirety of its length within the Ontario section, but mostly from the provincial border-Fort Severn. Open bogs/fens neighbour the road mostly from Severn-Peawanuck and immediately west of Severn. Conifer forest edges almost exclusively occur from the border-Peawanuck. Based on the habitats where willows (which predominate WIPT diet) and dwarf birch (which predominate ROPT diet) occur, one can assume that WIPT show up most frequently on the Ontario section of the ice road along the first half of the border-Severn stretch, and all along the Severn-Peawanuck stretch; and that ROPT occur mostly along the first half of the border-Severn stretch and immediately west of Severn, and prime bog/fen habitat occurs consistently from Severn-Peawanuck. Based on all factors (historical records and habitat), I'd wager that the best place to look for ROPT along the road would be immediately west of Severn and all along the stretch from Severn-Peawanuck, but check out the map and take a look at what the best 'hotspots' would be in your mind. Driving these zones during the morning and late afternoon would likely be the most productive way to look for the species.
Buck Miller said he recalls seeing the majority of ptarms between Shamattawa and Peawanuck, “far away from Gillam." Ptarmigans, like most game birds, are not terribly smart. They will collect along roads, and, by creeping up slowly in a vehicle or on foot, one can usually get quite close to them. An MNR officer told me that there is often lots of ptarmigan road kill on the Wapusk, which he has travelled several times. At least that way one would be able to examine some birds up close, but, despite being a good study, it’s pretty sad that so many die. It will, however, be helpful when it comes to separating ROPT from WIPT (see next subsection), not that I’d count a dead bird on my list.
Identification Tracking down a definitive ROPT in HBL seems even more challenging when one considers the difficulty of the identification. I have no field experience with either species, so the following information is based on expertise from others, and studying images and videos. As previously mentioned, it seems that when there’s a push of ROPT in Ontario, it mostly consists of female birds. Winter plumage ROPT hens lack the distinctive black eyeline (occasionally adults have a partial one) that adult males exhibit, so they are usually very difficult to separate from winter plumage WIPT. They can, however, be distinguished. The main difference is the bill. A ROPT’s bill is less hefty and stout, and also narrower, and it lacks the little bump that WIPT sport where the forehead meets the upper mandible; the top of a ROPT’s bill is more flush to its forehead than that of a WIPT. The best way I can describe it is that the upper and lower mandibles on a ROPT are more uniform size-wise than that of a WIPT. See the photos below. The first three exhibit closeup comparisons of dead specimens. I put stars beside the media that best displays the field marks in question.
Bill-wise, there are, however, ‘tweeners’. See the photo below.
On average, WIPT are a bit over an inch bigger than ROPT. Their wing length to body length ratio is very similar. Their calls are different; below, I have linked to the only ROPT/WIPT call I could find between Macaulay Library and Xeno-canto. The Sibley V2 app has an assortment of different vocalizations for each species, however. I don’t believe they do their display sounds during the winter, but correct me if I'm wrong.
I have no idea if the two ptarmigans’ footprints are unique from each other, but I do know that WIPT prints at least are different from Ruffed, Spruce, and Sharp-tailed Grouse. Ptarmigan toes are more heavily feathered, so, in soft snow, their tracks are often less defined than the “all-toe-no-feather” tracks of a grouse (not always the case if the snow is crustier). Furthermore, ptarmigan have shorter, fatter toes (I know this to be true with WIPT, and I assume the same is true with ROPT).
The rest of my identification tips are mostly conjecture; they are not hard and fast facts. From studying videos, I would say that ROPT have slightly slower wingbeats than the rapid, intermittent fluttering of a WIPT. See the following videos of WIPT and ROPT in flight:
This last one is maybe nonsense, but I’m convinced that ROPT have very evenly rounded tails, while WIPT have slightly longer outer tail feathers, making them look like they have squarer tails. This is most apparent on the dorsal side. I also think that the white back feathers that meet the black tail feathers and extend to the trailing edge of the tail are straighter on WIPT and more gradually rounded on ROPT, and ROPT have a narrower margin of white that reaches the trailing end of their tails.
Please let me know of any ID tips that I’m missing, and shoot down any ideas that you think are bogus. Is the size ratio between ROPT and WIPT different with different sexes and ages? One thing that I know almost nothing about (I can't find any illuminating information on the subject) is the differences between ROPT subspecies. I'm not even sure what subspecies occurs in Ontario, but I assume it would be whatever one is in Nunavut. Maybe muta, which is the one found in Alaska and northwestern Canada. Bear that in mind when studying the media I have provided in this section. I have labelled the media by subspecies with the ones I know for certain. Let me know if you have any intel on this.
Conclusion, Big Year Application (?)
Many of you know that I’m doing an Ontario big year in 2022, so of course I have considered whether or not this trip would be viable/productive. February and March are, if I’m not mistaken, the two least productive months for rarities in Ontario, so it might be safe to disappear into the north for nine days…or I could miss an Ivory Gull! With a concerted effort on the Wapusk Trail during a good irruption winter, I would wager that the chances of finding at least one ROPT would be pretty good; I am actively trying to contact locals to get more information on frequency and reliability. Outside of an irruption year, the chances would probably be relatively slim. We shall soon see if there is some sort of echo irruption this winter. It goes without saying that the safety of the northern communities I'd be visiting would be my top priority, especially during the tail end of the pandemic. If, by the time the Wapusk is functional, I have cleaned up on all the province’s overwintering rarities as well as winter and northern specialties, and provided that there isn’t some significant trend of unusual birds showing up in Ontario, then this crazy expedition might actually be worth it. Furthermore, even if I don't get ROPT, the trip would pretty much guarantee WIPT. This would save me from having to get WIPT in the HBL in summer—a very expensive trip (if I can't get up with the Atlas or another volunteer project or job). Smith's Longspur (SMLO) and Common Eider (COEI)—EDIT: I recently learned COEI are nearly impossible on the HBL in the summer these days—would be the two other main targets of a summer HBL trip. WIPT, SMLO, and COEI are the only three HBL summer targets that are extremely difficult to see farther south. I can get other HBL breeders like Arctic Tern, Pacific Loon, and Yellow Rail in car-accessible parts of the province. I say this because, if I happen to get SMLO and COEI (two possible winter vagrants) before the Wapusk opens, I would have a good reason to go on the Wapusk expedition even if it weren't an irruption year where the chance of ROPT was infinitesimal. That would make my summer trip to HBL unnecessary, because I'd already have WIPT, COEI, and SMLO. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to go on a summer trip to HBL, but it's wildly expensive (as well as being a bit dangerous), and I have no doubt I'll get another chance to get up there during the breeding season at some point. Now, a few final pleas to you, dear readers. If anyone has any relevant equipment I could borrow for the trip (extreme cold sleeping bags, winterized tent, satellite phone, jumper kit, CB radio, etc.), it would be greatly appreciated. If you hear any word-of-mouth reports about ptarmigans south of their usual wintering ranges in the coming months, please publicize them or let me know. If you have any contacts in Peawanuck or Fort Severn who might have any helpful information, I would greatly appreciate it if you put me in touch.
Aaaaaand, that’s it! I congratulate anyone who got this far. Sorry it’s been so long since my last post. I will try to be more consistent. Thank you to everyone who gave me permission to use their photos. Happy birding all!