While hiding in my snow fort making secret battle plans for the weekend I saw a little ruffed grouse approach. I stayed very still, and then so did he. I think he was playing a game with me, trying to see who would move first. He won. He always does. I could only sit still for a few seconds and then had to poke my head up to have another look. He laughed, declared victory and ran back to the woods.
Ruffed grouse behave a bit like chickens, but are half the size. They spend most of the time pecking around on the ground, but will sometimes fly up to high branches and peck on tree buds too. Grouse are well adapted for our deep snows and cold winters. We have one right now that is well adapted to our bird feeder too! He comes around almost every day searching for seeds on the ground. You can see a few pictures of him here.