Willow Ptarmigan
Lagopus lagopus

The willow ptarmigan is a bird in the grouse tribe Tetraonini of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse. The willow ptarmigan breeds in birch and other forests and moorlands in northern Europe, the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, and Canada, in particular in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec. It is the state bird of Alaska. Source
Where it is now
In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 912 times across 18 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).
See the Willow Ptarmigan on the live map
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 6 April 2026 | 11 May 2026 | 20 April 2026 | 2 |
| North America | 7 September 2026 | 7 September 2026 | 7 September 2026 | 1 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.