Willow ptarmigan in favourable seasons, many juveniles may survive and the population of willow ptarmigan is prone to wide fluctuations in size. By September, families begin to form flocks. The females and young migrate to lower altitudes and may overwinter from their breeding grounds in wooded valleys and hilly country. The males also congregate in small groups but do not usually travel as far as the females. The willow ptarmigan was adopted as the state bird of Alaska in 1955. Widespread and not uncommon in its remote habitat, the willow ptarmigan is classified as a species of "Least Concern" by the IUCN.
Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) Ptarmigan (sternwheeler) Ptarmigan was a sternwheel steamboat that operated in British Columbia on the Columbia River from 1903 to 1909. "Ptarmigan" was built at Golden, BC and was the last vessel built for the Upper Columbia Navig. & Tramway Co., of which Capt. Frank P. Armstrong was the principal owner and manager. "Ptarmigan"'s engines were over 60 years old, and had been originally built for a ferry crossing the St. Lawrence River. The engines had been previously installed in two other sternwheelers on the upper Columbia River, specifically the first "Duchess", and the second "Duchess". The blunt-ended bow of "Ptarmigan"