An Act of Belonging
Species: White-tailed Ptarmigan with Old Man of the Mountain (Hymenoxys grandiflora)
Habitat: Alpine tundra
Location: Jicarita Peak, New Mexico
Public Land: Carson National Forest, Pecos Wilderness
Description: Amid the shifting seasons of the alpine tundra, the white-tailed ptarmigan vanishes into its surroundings like a whispered secret. In summer, its mottled brown feathers mirror the lichen-covered rocks and patches of earth; in winter, it becomes a living snowflake, cloaked in pure white, nearly invisible against the frozen landscape. This bird wears the colors of survival—changing with the land’s mood in a quiet act of belonging. In its camouflage lies a poetry of adaptation, a dance of stillness and shape that honors the silence of high places.
I photographed this white-tailed ptarmigan just after it was released in its new habitat— the talus slope and meadow on Santa Barbara Ridge. Scientists are working to preserve a small population of ptarmigan that were translocated from Colorado to New Mexico. New Mexico is the southern extent of the white-tailed ptarmigan’s range where their population is uncertain and threatened by rapidly warming temperatures and changing community of forbs they depend on in their alpine habitat.
I photographed this story on assignment for the cover story of the Winter 2024 Issue of Audubon Magazine. For more on that read my Substack post.
Fine art print on acid free, 100% cotton, bright or warm white, textured surface, archival quality paper. For more about papers I use click here.
Species: White-tailed Ptarmigan with Old Man of the Mountain (Hymenoxys grandiflora)
Habitat: Alpine tundra
Location: Jicarita Peak, New Mexico
Public Land: Carson National Forest, Pecos Wilderness
Description: Amid the shifting seasons of the alpine tundra, the white-tailed ptarmigan vanishes into its surroundings like a whispered secret. In summer, its mottled brown feathers mirror the lichen-covered rocks and patches of earth; in winter, it becomes a living snowflake, cloaked in pure white, nearly invisible against the frozen landscape. This bird wears the colors of survival—changing with the land’s mood in a quiet act of belonging. In its camouflage lies a poetry of adaptation, a dance of stillness and shape that honors the silence of high places.
I photographed this white-tailed ptarmigan just after it was released in its new habitat— the talus slope and meadow on Santa Barbara Ridge. Scientists are working to preserve a small population of ptarmigan that were translocated from Colorado to New Mexico. New Mexico is the southern extent of the white-tailed ptarmigan’s range where their population is uncertain and threatened by rapidly warming temperatures and changing community of forbs they depend on in their alpine habitat.
I photographed this story on assignment for the cover story of the Winter 2024 Issue of Audubon Magazine. For more on that read my Substack post.
Fine art print on acid free, 100% cotton, bright or warm white, textured surface, archival quality paper. For more about papers I use click here.
Species: White-tailed Ptarmigan with Old Man of the Mountain (Hymenoxys grandiflora)
Habitat: Alpine tundra
Location: Jicarita Peak, New Mexico
Public Land: Carson National Forest, Pecos Wilderness
Description: Amid the shifting seasons of the alpine tundra, the white-tailed ptarmigan vanishes into its surroundings like a whispered secret. In summer, its mottled brown feathers mirror the lichen-covered rocks and patches of earth; in winter, it becomes a living snowflake, cloaked in pure white, nearly invisible against the frozen landscape. This bird wears the colors of survival—changing with the land’s mood in a quiet act of belonging. In its camouflage lies a poetry of adaptation, a dance of stillness and shape that honors the silence of high places.
I photographed this white-tailed ptarmigan just after it was released in its new habitat— the talus slope and meadow on Santa Barbara Ridge. Scientists are working to preserve a small population of ptarmigan that were translocated from Colorado to New Mexico. New Mexico is the southern extent of the white-tailed ptarmigan’s range where their population is uncertain and threatened by rapidly warming temperatures and changing community of forbs they depend on in their alpine habitat.
I photographed this story on assignment for the cover story of the Winter 2024 Issue of Audubon Magazine. For more on that read my Substack post.
Fine art print on acid free, 100% cotton, bright or warm white, textured surface, archival quality paper. For more about papers I use click here.