Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Mar 12 2025

Details: adult, winter plummage, outside normal range

Barraute - There has been a major irruption from the Arctic in Abitibi County. It was my second trip this winter and this time I had 51 birds in two days. The experience was terrific.

Date uploaded: Mar 17

Comments (2):
BobTour: wow what a great accomplishment, very nice photo
Brian Morin: This was a whole lot of fun. Very long days slowly driving country roads but well worth the effort.

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

  📍 Map

Date taken: Jan 20 2025

Details: adult, outside normal range

North of Amos - I made a special trip just for these birds which are experiencing another irruption winter. There may be more than the 2021 irruption. I had 22 birds over the course of a full day but despite extensive tracks in the region the birds were hard to spot.

Date uploaded: Jan 23

Comments (4):
Ahmad Shah: Fantastic capture.
Brian Morin: This has become one of my favourite shots of these great birds. I fell in love with them in 2021 and was happy to get back to see another irruption. There are hundreds in the region based on the tracks that I saw although finding more than a dozen in a full day is an undertaking.

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Ontario)

  📍 Map

Date taken: May 8 2023

Details: molting, outside normal range

Point Pelee National Park - This is the most unlikely bird to ever visit the southernmost point of mainland Canada and a record for this Arctic wanderer. Hundreds of observers saw the bird within its five hour visit before it flew off towards a destination even further south, Pelee Island, 16km away. In typical ptarmigan fashion it paid no attention to its admirers, at times approaching to within a few feet of them.

Date uploaded: May 19 2023

Comments (3):
Chris: That is indeed incredible. While at Long Point I overheard talk of this occurrence. Glad you caught up with him!
Sue Bishop: Amazing to see in this location!!!! Great catch

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

Date taken: Mar 3 2021

Details: adult

Val-d'Or – I was going through some of my trip files from northern Quebec earlier this month and recall the conditions when we found the ptarmigan. It was rough, a far cry from where we are today thankfully. Discovering a flock close to the road on the second day, after hours of searching was a thrill I'll always remember.

Date uploaded: Mar 28 2021

Comments (1):
Sue Bishop: Beautiful!

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

Date taken: Mar 4 2021

Details: winter plummage

Val-d'Or – We failed to find any the first day but got really lucky the next. This is a popular species for hunters and since regional hunters have to travel hundreds of km north in normal years, this year they are taking advantage of it close to home. That means birds close to the road are prime targets so they are slowly declining within 75 km of some towns.

Date uploaded: Mar 5 2021

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Brian Morin

Canada (Québec)

Date taken: Mar 4 2021

Details: adult

Val-d'Or - I made a trek in search of ptarmigan, perhaps my most wanted bird. This winter there has been a major irruption in Quebec, south of their normal range. It is the largest movement in 40 years and undoubtedly involves thousands of individuals. Normally the area from Val-d'Or to north of Amos has one or two if any. Still, we had a hard time finding them but in some locations there were numerous tracks alerting us to their presence.

Date uploaded: Mar 5 2021

Willow Ptarmigan (7)

Lagopus lagopus

Chris

Canada (Northwest Territories)

Date taken: Mar 24 2019

Seen at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

Date uploaded: Mar 26 2019