Birder’s Notebook: Willow Ptarmigan––Here today, gone tomorrow?

Scanning the landscape recently from my living room window, it was hard to find a square foot of snow that was undecorated by a latticework of ptarmigan tracks connecting every last willow sprig poking up out of the snow. Dozens of artists were still at work embellishing their masterpiece.

At least in my limited orbit, after several years of relative scarcity, ptarmigan have made a big comeback. I wondered if the same was true on a larger scale.

A number of long-time Nome residents have told me it’s been years— even decades—since they have seen so many ptarmigan here. And according to hunters and pilots, their notable abundance apparently extends beyond the Nome area across much of the Seward Peninsula where willow branches are exposed above this winter’s heavy snowpack.

The willow ptarmigan is an iconic species of northern regions around the globe. It is the larger and more abundant of the two ptarmigan species found in this region, the other being the rock ptarmigan of higher elevations.

During the breeding season, willow ptarmigan can be found throughout the Seward Peninsula in low-shrub habitats with an abundance of willow, dwarf birch, berry bushes, herbaceous plants and grasses. They avoid steep or rocky terrain that is the domain of rock ptarmigan.

As willow thickets disappear under winter snows, ptarmigan habitat shrinks and the birds may be forced to migrate beyond their breeding areas. Hundreds of birds sometimes flock up and travel to find exposed willows that provide food and shelter during winter.

The large flocks seen this spring may be a combination of ptarmigan that breed locally and migratory flocks from other parts of the peninsula.

As snow melts in April or early May, the males return to their breeding areas to stake out their territories before the females arrive. They molt into their striking, red-necked courtship plumage and rattle from prominent perches, putting other males on notice that the surrounding patch of tundra is already claimed. Intruders are vigorously pursued and occasional fights may erupt with chestslamming, kicking and pecking.

When the females arrive, the males woo them with raised red combs and displays that include flight-songs and whole-hearted tailfanning, strutting, stamping of feet and bowing. These displays are fun to watch, but it’s serious business— research has found that females prefer males with large territories, the most vigorous displays and the largest red combs over their eyes. Once a pair bond is formed the birds are usually monogamous for the season.

The female makes a shallow depression on the ground for a nest, usually below an overhanging shrub and hidden by vegetation.

On the Seward Peninsula, peak egg laying is from the end of May to early June. Six to ten eggs are laid, one per day. When the last egg is laid, the female begins incubation and the male guards their nest and territory. The chicks hatch in three weeks and within 12 hours are able to leave the nest and feed themselves.

Unlike males of other ptarmigan species, willow ptarmigan males stay with the family to help care for the young through the summer until they are independent. Males will even raise the brood alone if the hen dies.

The parents vigorously defend their young, both by direct attacks and by feigning injury with wing dragging displays and helpless fluttering. Despite their parents’ heroic efforts, life is hazardous for ptarmigan chicks. Bad weather, predation, separation from the family and disease take a toll and in most years 65 percent to 80 percent of the young die before they are 11-months-old.

By early September, family groups combine and flocks form. Movement away from areas with scant shrubbery begins in late September and early October. Migratory flocks tend to segregate by sex and travel as needed to find good wintering habitat.

The willow ptarmigan’s diet is heavy on willows––leaves, buds, catkins and twigs are their main food. In winter, willow buds and twigs are eaten almost exclusively. Other leaves and remnant and fresh berries are also eaten in summer. Young chicks eat insects and other invertebrates for protein to fuel their growth.

Ptarmigan have many adaptions for year-round life in the far north. Their plumage changes color with the seasons for camouflage and protection from predators. They grow feathers on their feet in winter which provides insulation and increases the surface area of their feet, creating a snowshoe affect. This is important because they tend to walk or run over the snow rather than fly. At night and during stormy weather they burrow into the snow, hollowing out cozy chambers where they hunker, protected from bitter winds and cold. They are virtually impossible to see when snuggled in their snow caves, until they erupt in a startling flurry of wings.

Unpredictable boom-and-bust swings, from superabundance to near absence within a few years’ time, is typical of ptarmigan population cycles. It is not entirely clear what causes these fluctuations, but weather likely plays a big role.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Rick Merizon says that weather during the month after hatch, from mid-June to mid-July, has a big impact on survival of the young. Warm, relatively dry and buggy conditions tend to result in good survival, whereas mortality can be high if conditions are wet, windy and cold.

Ptarmigan breed when they are one-year-old, so populations are heavily influenced by survival of each year’s chicks. If rearing conditions are good for a few years, numbers can quickly swell. Or, one or two years of poor chick production or high winter mortality can cause the population to plummet just as fast.

During the breeding season, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game surveys trends in ptarmigan abundance along roads throughout the state. In 2018, the Nome Fish and Game office began conducting these surveys on the Teller and Kougarok Roads in May. Stopping at stations every half mile along the road, biologists use recordings of willow ptarmigan calls to prompt vocalizations by male ptarmigan in the area and count the number of birds that respond.

Merizon says the Seward Peninsula surveys have thus far found willow ptarmigan to be relatively abundant compared to most other areas of the state. Over the five-year survey period, a decline followed by an increasing trend was detected on the Kougarok Road. On the Teller Road, the data has not trended up or down. It will be interesting to see how this spring’s surveys compare.

Ptarmigan are a prized subsistence resource throughout the region. And they are a critically important prey species for many predators, especially during winter, when most avian prey has migrated and small mammals are hibernating or protected below the snow.

Whether you are a hunter or someone who simply enjoys spectacles of nature, savor the abundance now, for who knows how long the bounty will last?

Photo by Kate Persons ADVERTISING— As the breeding season approaches, males grow striking chestnut-red capes and strut and rattle from prominent perches such as roadside berms or tall willows. From his throne, dressed in eye-catching plumage, the male advertises the boundaries of his territory and entices a mate. Females are attracted to males that display vigorously and that have the largest red combs over their eyes.

Photo by Kate Persons WILLOWS— Willow Ptarmigan are aptly named because willows provide both their main food and their breeding habitat. The willow ptarmigan’s bill is sturdy and wide with a sharp cutting edge for snipping willow stems, buds, leaves and catkins.

Photo by Claudia Ihl IN SEARCH OF GRIT— In winter it is common to see flocks of ptarmigan picking grit off the plowed roads around Nome. The grit collects in their gizzards and helps ptarmigan grind and digest the woody willow stems they eat. For much of this winter, the thick layer of ice on the roads and landscape made it harder for flocks to find exposed gravel.