About the Image(s)

Location: White River National Wilderness Area, Aspen Colorado
Shot: June 28, 2026
Gear: Canon EOS R5 + Canon RF 100-500 at 176mm
Settings: 1/3200 - f / 7.1, ISO 2000 handheld

On my way back to the car from a hike, I was making generic bird-call sounds, trying to call in
any area birds for a last shot or two. I heard some strange sounds close by in the tall grass
alongside my trail and tried to catch a glimpse at who was answering my Call-and-Response
game. At first, I thought I was calling in a Ptarmigan, but Merlin photos didn’t quite fit the beak
shape and markings of this lovely bird. She was very vocal and after wandering back and forth
in the grass nearby, she stepped into the trail ahead of me. I quickly grabbed a couple shots.
There was some slight movement at far edge of the trail. I realized she had a chick ??“ and it too
close to focus with my 100-500 lens. I slowly backed away so the chick could cross the trail and
join it’s mother, only to see a second, then third ??“ and finally a fourth chick emerge onto the
trail from the tall grass. Mother grouse was repeatedly calling those chicks to cross in front of
me ??“ and they did. I tried to move as slowly as I could so as to not frighten them, but quickly
enough (I hoped) to still capture their crossing. I did get some shots, but sadly, none where all
four were sharp.
But I did get a good, sharp shot of Mother Grouse, calling to her chicks. Fortunately, the light
was just starting to transition to golden hour tones. I never was able to capture mother and
chicks together ??“ those little camo balls really disappeared quickly in the tall, shady grass as
Mother Grouse led them on their way up the mountainside.

LRC Edits include:
- Masking bird, adding a bit of texture, contrast and lightened exposure slightly
- Dupe + Ivert mask to tone down background exposure
- Used Gen AI to remove 2 blades of grass over tail (tail length is key identifier for this grouse)
- Masked rock and bird’s forward leg (were too bright) ??“ lowered exposure to make bird stand
out more
- Masked eye ??“ slightly lightened, sharpened, and pushed highlights
- Cropped and added very subtle vignette