The early birder might (but probably doesn’t) win the worm but may (and probably does) lose friends.

I don’t understand why I want to wake up at 4 AM to drive two hours to probably not see a white-tailed ptarmigan. I also don’t understand why anyone would come with me to do this; my friends are either very kind or very dumb.

Right now the ptarmigans still have their dull neutral summer colors so they’ll look almost exactly like rocks. I’ve heard that the only way to find them is to wake up early enough to hear their morning-time songs because otherwise, they will look exactly like rocks. “Morning-time songs” makes it sound like I’ll be walking through a crisp autumn forest toward a beautiful melody in the first rays of the late summer sunshine, but the songs of a white-tailed ptarmigan sound a lot like when you pick up a chicken who did not ask to be picked up.

I do not understand why I want to wake up at 4 AM to do this. 

Obviously, I don’t have any pictures to post yet, and frankly, I don’t think I will, but dammit, I am going to try to stare at these mountain chickens, and then I am going to take myself and some very kind or very dumb friends out to a mountain pancake breakfast to celebrate a victory or celebrate a defeat. Updates to come I guess.

UPDATE: There is no update. This entire post was a falsehood designed to trick my best friend into believing there was no way in heck I was coming all the way to Texas surprise him at his umm… husband shower (?) after the surprise was almost spoiled. The real update is that it worked 100% and he was so surprised to see me and I think he cried a little, but that’s no surprise at all. Thank you for your time.