Young Red Grouse Calling

Portrait of a young red grouse. Photographed in late August against the russet browns and faint purple of the heather. Derbyshire, Peak District National Park. Due to the summer heatwave that happened this year, the flowering period was extremely brief and lacked the usual intensity. Despite this I still managed a couple of very productive session with the grouse while there was still some colour in the heather.

About Red Grouse:

Relative of the willow grouse, found in the northern boreal forests, red grouse are found on open moorland in the upland areas of the British Isles. Highly competitive birds, the males compete primarily for areas of moorland rich in heather and bilberry bushes, ideal sites in which the female will produce a nest scrape for her eggs.

You can find more about red grouse here.