Black grouse leks
8 places to see and hear black grouse leks in the wild, in 8 countries from Norway to Italy: when each one peaks, where to go on your own, what it costs and what you will hear. Wild animals only, no zoos.
Best time, place by place
| Spectacle | Country | Peak | On your own? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capercaillie and black grouse leks in the eastern forests | Norway | 15 Apr – 5 May | Partly on your own |
| Black grouse leks | United Kingdom | 1 Apr – 30 Apr | Partly on your own |
| Capercaillie and black grouse — the ones you do not visit | Germany | 5 Apr – 30 Apr | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
| Black grouse leks in the Alps | France | 25 Apr – 25 May | Partly on your own |
| Black grouse leks in the Alps and Jura | Switzerland | 15 Apr – 15 May | Partly on your own |
| Black grouse leks above the treeline | Austria | 15 Apr – 15 May | Partly on your own |
| Black grouse leks above the treeline | Slovenia | 15 Apr – 10 May | Partly on your own |
| Alpine black grouse leks | Italy | 25 Apr – 31 May | Partly on your own |
Where to go, north to south
Capercaillie and black grouse leks in the eastern forestsCapercaillie's clicking, cork-pop and grinding song from pine bog edges, wing-beats of cocks flying in, black grouse bubbling on the open bogs; cranes, whooper swans and Tengmalm's owl in the same nights.
Black grouse leksBubbling 'rookooing' from displaying males, hissing 'tchu-wee' sneezes and flutter jumps; curlew and snipe often in the same soundscape.
Capercaillie and black grouse — the ones you do not visitThe capercaillie's accelerating clicks, 'cork-pop' and grinding — a very quiet song (audible to ~200 m) that is almost never recorded in Germany without a permit. Black grouse bubbling in the Alps.
Black grouse leks in the AlpsBubbling 'rookooing' and hissing from males on snow patches at the treeline, ring ouzels, water pipits, and meltwater.
Black grouse leks in the Alps and JuraBubbling 'rookooing' rolling across a snow-patched alpine meadow from several cocks, sneezing 'tchu-shwee' hisses, wing-flutter jumps; ring ouzel and water pipit around them; cowbells not yet arrived.
Black grouse leks above the treelineBubbling 'rookooing' and explosive hisses from several cocks on a snow-patched clearing, wing-flutter jumps, ring ouzel and ptarmigan croaks; cowbells arrive later in the season.
Black grouse leks above the treelineBubbling 'rookooing' and explosive hissing from several cocks at once on a snow-patched clearing, ring ouzel and water pipit around them; capercaillie 'cork-pop' song from the forest edge in the same weeks.
Alpine black grouse leksBubbling leks on snowy slopes at the treeline, with ring ouzels, alpine accentors, and snowmelt streams.