Capercaillie
2 places to see and hear capercaillie in the wild, in 2 countries from Norway to Germany: 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 |
| Capercaillie and black grouse — the ones you do not visit | Germany | 5 Apr – 30 Apr | Guide, ranger or boat needed |
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.
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.