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33-403: Its waters are characteristically turbid and turbulent, the result of muddy feeder streams, frequent winds, and very high tides. Some Bristol Bay tides are thought to rank eighth highest in the world, and Ugashik Bay is greatly influenced by this tidal action. The bay is bordered on the north by a sand beach stretching from Smoky Point on the west to the wide mouth of Dago Creek , on the east by

66-712: A broken wing. Nevertheless, the chicks face many dangers which range from attacks by foxes or birds of prey , to getting separated from the rest of the brood, bad weather, and coccidiosis . Fewer than 35% of chicks survive to eleven months and only a minority of these reach maturity. Despite this, in favourable seasons, many juveniles may survive and the population of willow ptarmigan is prone to wide fluctuations in size. By September, families begin to form flocks. The females and young migrate to lower altitudes and may overwinter 100 miles (160 km) from their breeding grounds in wooded valleys and hilly country. The males also congregate in small groups but do not usually travel as far as

99-488: A clutch of six to ten eggs in a shallow depression on the ground. The nest site is usually in a hidden location at the edge of a clearing. A small minority of male willow ptarmigan are polygynous but most are monogamous . They are assiduous at guarding both nest and mate, particularly early in the incubation period and when the eggs are nearly ready to hatch. During this time, the greatest danger may be from conspecifics . Although adult willow ptarmigans are herbivores ,

132-408: A mud-and-sand shoreline running nearly true north–south past the village of Pilot Point to Muddy Point. The southern shore is a shifting series of mud-and-sand ridges, the northernmost and most prominent of which is called South Spit. The bay influences a marine zone ranging from Cape Greig , 8 miles (13 km) north, to Cape Menshikof , 12 miles (19 km) to the south. Ugashik Bay's weather

165-445: A part in caring for them. The chicks eat insects and young plant growth while the adults are completely herbivorous, eating leaves, flowers, buds, seeds and berries during the summer and largely subsisting on the buds and twigs of willow and other dwarf shrubs and trees during the winter. The willow ptarmigan is a medium to large ground-dwelling bird and is the most numerous of the three species of ptarmigan . Males and females are about

198-579: A single day in July 2006, to illustrate, two vessels of the Bristol Bay fishing fleet were lost on the shoals of Smoky Point. The crew of the fishing vessels Kaos and Silver Tide were rescued by heroic efforts of the M/V Farwest Leader in extreme weather conditions in the dark. Besides the lighthouse, the area also hosts several homes and beach cabins belonging to the salmon gillnet families who fish

231-401: Is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae . It is also known as the willow grouse . The willow ptarmigan breeds in birch and other forests and moorlands in northern Europe, the tundra of Scandinavia , Siberia , Alaska and Canada , in particular in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec . It is the state bird of Alaska. In

264-519: Is browner and in the winter, the male willow ptarmigan lacks the rock ptarmigan's black stripe between the eyes and bill. The white-tailed ptarmigan ( Lagopus leucura ) in North America is smaller, has a white tail and finely-barred greyer plumage and lives permanently above the tree line. The distinctive red grouse of the British Isles was once considered to be a subspecies. This moorland bird

297-418: Is caused by increases in muscle fiber diameters (hypertrophy), and cold exposure is not necessary for this muscle development to occur. Ptarmigan also have thick plumage with feather barbules that contain air-filled cavities, contributing to a low heat loss, which aids in thermoregulation while the bird is roosting in burrows in the snow. Ptarmigan can withstand the severe cold because the ambient temperature in

330-401: Is confused, partly because of the complicated changes in plumage several times a year and the differing color and pattern of the summer plumage: The red grouse ( Lagopus scotica ) of the British Isles was formerly considered to be a subspecies. The willow ptarmigan often hybridises with the black grouse ( Tetrao tetrix ) and the hazel grouse ( Tetrastes bonasia ) and occasionally with

363-619: Is quite variable, especially during winter when storm systems frequently change climatological influences on the area. Storms blowing winds up from the North Pacific can make winter conditions relatively mild, even balmy; whereas winds from the Alaska Interior can bring clear and bitter cold conditions. Westerly winds blowing off the Bering Sea bring high humidity and biting cold, combined with coastal low clouds and fog, even in summer. This

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396-532: Is reddish brown all over, except for its white feet. The voice is low-pitched and guttural and includes chuckles, repeated clucking sounds, and expostulations. When displaying, the male makes rattles and barking noises. The willow ptarmigan's scientific name , Lagopus lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos ( λαγως ) ' hare ' + pous ( πους ) 'foot', in reference to the bird's feathered feet which allow it to negotiate frozen ground. The willow ptarmigan has 15 recognized subspecies. The taxonomy

429-441: Is so commonplace that Smoky Point was named from the frequent inclement weather. 57°33′47″N 157°38′32″W  /  57.56306°N 157.64222°W  / 57.56306; -157.64222 Smoky Point Smoky Point is a point of land in the U.S. state of Alaska , located at 57°36′44″N 157°41′24″W  /  57.61222°N 157.69000°W  / 57.61222; -157.69000 , where Ugashik Bay joins

462-476: Is thought to be greatly affecting the willow ptarmigan's winter diet. Because of the way they browse, ptarmigan help shape the landscape of the area. After heavy snowfalls, the birds cannot access the shorter shrubs as they are blanketed with snow, so they will eat the taller species that poke through. In one study it was found that 90% of the buds of the Alaska willow within their reach had been browsed. This will stunt

495-806: The Yukon Territory . The willow ptarmigan has a circum-boreal distribution. It is native to Canada and the United States , China , Mongolia , the Russian Federation , Kazakhstan , the Czech Republic , Finland , Norway , Sweden , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Germany , the United Kingdom and Ireland . It primarily occupies subalpine and subarctic habitats such as sparse pine and birch forests, thickets with willow and alder trees, heather moors , tundra and mountain slopes. In

528-458: The emperor goose , lesser Canada goose , Arctic tern , cormorant , mallard duck, fish duck, and others. The land is also host to the American bald eagle , sandhill crane , willow ptarmigan , barrenground caribou , brown bear , foxes, porcupines, ground squirrels, and wolves, to name but a few. Although treeless, some stands of willow and alder grow in the more protected valleys between

561-522: The western capercaillie ( Tetrao urogallus ), the spruce grouse ( Falcipennis canadensis ) and the rock ptarmigan ( Lagopus muta ). During the Pleistocene , the willow ptarmigan widely occurred in continental Europe . Authors who recognize paleosubspecies have named the Pleistocene willow ptarmigan L. l. noaillensis (though the older name medius might be the correct one). These marginally different birds are said to have gradually changed from

594-410: The black outer rectrices . Their wing feathers remain white all year round. Immature birds resemble the adults. The willow ptarmigan can be distinguished from the closely related rock ptarmigan ( Lagopus muta ) by its larger size and thicker bill and by the fact that it is not generally found above the tree line while the rock ptarmigan prefers more elevated, barren habitat . The summer plumage

627-482: The earlier ( Pliocene ) Lagopus atavus into the present-day species L. lagopus . Pleistocene willow ptarmigan are recorded from diverse sites until the end of the Vistulian glaciation about 10,000 years ago, when the species, by then all but identical with the living birds, retreated northwards with its tundra habitat . Additionally, mitochondrial DNA of the willow ptarmigan has been recovered from permafrost in

660-403: The eastern shore of Bristol Bay make navigation through the area particularly troublesome. Shipwrecks , even of smaller vessels, are not unusual. Deaths arising from vessels in distress and from drowning are also commonplace. The combination of extremely rough sea conditions—surf arising in Bristol Bay is commonly 1–5 m (3–16 ft) high—and cold water make survival rates extremely low. On

693-552: The females. The willow ptarmigan has several behavioral and physiological adaptations that help it survive the long Arctic winter, such as large pectoral muscles that aid in the process of shivering. Researchers have found that these pectoral muscles grow quickly during the first few days of the ptarmigan's life, meaning that the ptarmigan chicks go from having no thermoregulatory ability at hatch to being able to maintain their normal body temperature for hours at 10 °C when they are two weeks old. The rapid increase in pectoralis size

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726-481: The much larger Bristol Bay . The most easily distinguishable landmark is the United States Coast Guard lighthouse which is visible to mariners on the eastern shore of Bristol Bay and all of Ugashik Bay. Located 10 to 12 miles from Cape Grey, the bluff at Smoky Point has long been considered the northern entrance point to Ugashik River . The long beaches, shoals, and sandbars of lower Ugashik Bay and

759-544: The nearby waters, dotting the coastline from Dago Creek , approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the lighthouse to Cape Greig , approximately 8 miles (13 km) to the north. The area population typically exceeds 30 in summer, dropping to just a single resident in winter. The terrain consists of a series of long ridges which once comprised the ancient coastline of the Bering Sea punctuated by numerous long, narrow lakes and marshland which provide food and shelter for any number of nesting seabirds and annual migrations of

792-422: The neck and breast, a black tail and white wings and underparts. It has a red semicircular comb above each eye, which become red and prominent in the breeding season. The female is similar in appearance but with much smaller eye combs and has brown feathers scattered among the white feathers on her belly. During winter, the body plumage and two central tail feathers of both sexes becomes completely white, except for

825-412: The newly hatched young also feed on insects . In most other species of grouse , only the female takes care of the young, but the male willow ptarmigan also helps with feeding the brood and protecting them. He may take over completely if the female dies. In particular, the male defends the young from predators and both he and his mate can dive-bomb intruders or lure attackers away by pretending to have

858-437: The ridges; the region is mostly covered with low shrubbery , mosses , and lichen , which comprise the tundra of the plain. The area is frequently buffeted by strong winds off the Bering Sea which keep the growing season short and cool, and undermines vegetation growing on the unstable sand dune ridges. Willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan ( / ˈ t ɑːr m ɪ ɡ ən / TAR-mi-gun ); Lagopus lagopus )

891-407: The same size, the adult length varying between 35 and 44 centimetres (14 and 17 in) with a wingspan ranging from 60 and 65 centimetres (24 and 26 in). The weight is 430 to 810 grams (15 to 29 oz). It is deep-chested and has a fairly long neck, a broad bill, short feathered legs and a moderately short rounded tail. In the summer, the male's plumage is marbled brown, with a reddish hue to

924-472: The sheltered microclimate of their snow burrows typically exceeds their lower critical temperature. Widespread and not uncommon in its remote habitat, the willow ptarmigan is classified as a species of " Least Concern " by the IUCN . This is because, even if, as is suspected, numbers are declining slightly, it has a very wide range with a total population estimated at forty million individuals. The willow ptarmigan

957-461: The shrubs they are able to feed on. Male willow ptarmigans are territorial birds. Males arrive in the breeding areas and set up territories in April and May, aggressively defending them against male interlopers. When the females arrive a few weeks later, the male performs courtship displays such as aerial manoeuvres, strutting and tail-fanning. When she has chosen a mate and a nesting site, the female lays

990-438: The summer the birds are largely brown, with dappled plumage, while in the winter they are white with some black feathers in their tails. The species has remained little changed from the bird that roamed the tundra during the Pleistocene . Nesting takes place in the spring when clutches of four to ten eggs are laid in a scrape on the ground. The chicks are precocial and soon leave the nest. While they are young, both parents play

1023-472: The summer, their diet is highly varied and may consist of berries, flowers, leaves, twigs and seeds. In Alaska, the main dietary item of the adults at all times of year is willows such as the Alaska willow Salix alaxensis , with leaves being eaten in summer and buds, twigs and catkins supplying the birds' main nutritional needs in winter and early spring. In the early twenty-first century, there has been an increase in shrub expansion in arctic Alaska that

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1056-452: The willows and create a feedback cycle extending through the entire ecosystem. However, in winters with below average snowfall, the browsing of ptarmigans will not have such a drastic effect as their feeding will be spread out across a range of lower plant species. It is also believed that the greening of parts of the Arctic is affecting willow ptarmigan populations by altering the shape and size of

1089-579: The winter, females and sub-adults may move to lower altitudes and seek shelter in valleys or in more densely vegetated areas, but adult males usually remain in the subalpine region. The red grouse is common on heather-clad moorland across the north and west of Great Britain and in localised areas of Ireland. The willow ptarmigan has a varied and seasonal diet. The bird is herbivorous for most of its life and subsists on various plant materials. As juveniles, they may feed on insects due to an inability to digest plant material caused by underdeveloped cecums . In

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