https://spectra.video/videos/watch/9127a795-f855-4372-9470-83fa8f3ec1dd was on my way to check the mail and was startled (okay- scared the crap out of me) by a grouse (Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus) suddenly flying away from the low branches of a spruce tree I was passing. They try to remain undetected by being still, but if you get close they often lose their nerve! If they just stuck with it, you'd usually not know they were there. So they fly up, causing near heart attacks- Mom said this was a problem in the old days when they were on horseback- I can imagine! Anyway, after cursing I continued around the large spruce and stopped in my tracks when I saw this fellow displaying on the snowy driveway. Often they stop displaying and start moving away as soon as they spot you, but this one was too worked up to quit (I presume the one that flew away was a female he was trying to impress, though it could have been an interloping male). He carried on displaying and dancing not that far from where I stood, eventually moving off into the woodland strip to the right. Music excerpt: Acta Non Verba by Alex Hamlin YouTube Audio Library Wed, 26 Aug 2026 04:53:28 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://spectra.video https://spectra.video/lazy-static/avatars/71f5d173-eea9-47a7-b254-f7e91f9f5d25.png https://spectra.video/videos/watch/9127a795-f855-4372-9470-83fa8f3ec1dd All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://spectra.video/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.