As anthropogenic activities increasingly disturb ecosystems, it is important to determine how wildlife is impacted. This photo was taken during field work for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas-3--a project aimed at understanding the temporal differences in distribution and abundance of Ontario's breeding birds.
After inadvertently flushing the mother, I discovered this little spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) fledgling tucked away. Observing this fledgling confirms spruce grouse breeding for this area and contributes to the growing database of bird breeding records.
![A tiny yellow, gold and black bird standing in grass](https://www.uoguelph.ca/research/system/files/Spruce%20Grouse%20Fledgling%20-%20Mark%20Duchene%202023.jpg)