How to photograph lekking Black Grouse

The best time to photograph lekking Black Grouse in central Finland is from late March until mid-May. As the spring days get longer in March and the sun is melting the snow, the males begin their lekking. In a normal year in Oulu region there is still snow on the ground when lekking starts, but by the last week of April the snow has usually melted. It is then that the females usually visit the lekking grounds and mating takes place in early May.

Black Grouse males arrives to the lekking ground around the sunrise. So it is essential to check the exact time for sunrise. To avoid disturbing the birds you need to be in the hide at least half an hour before sunrise. Please notice that if the birds are disturbed from the leksite e.g. by Goshawk or photographer, they usually all fly off at the same time, but then they might also come back after short while. Natural leaving of Black Grouse from the leksite is often when lekking has already been slow for some time and usually birds leave one by one. Then they will not come back before the evening. It is important to stay in the hide as long as the last bird leaves the lekking ground.

Hides

At the Black Grouse lek it is easiest to use canvas tent hides and comfortable chairs or with low tent hides comfortable mattresses and warm sleeping bags. Hides need to be put up beforehand to the leksite, so birds will get to use to them and will be lekking just in front of the hides.

We often use low hides built from timber which is covered with tarpaulin. With this hide we are able to use ground pod and get really nice low angle for photography. For low angle photography I recommend angled viewfinder, which is much better for your neck!

Recommended lenses

Occasionally males can be so close that it would be possible to photograph them even with a wide angle lens, but usually the most suitable lenses for two fighting males would be 300 mm or 70- 200 mm zoom and 500 mm lens is better for tighter portraits. Converters can be used as well.

Our leksites

Number of birds vary from lekking site to other. At one of our lek sites in spring 2008 were 15- 20 male Black Grouse displaying. The spot is situated in a open bogland. It is very open place, and the first sunlight of the day reaches the lekking birds. Other leksite is frozen small lake and this site is excellent for backlit shots! Spring 2008 there were 10- 15 males lekking. Third site is also in open bog. In this place vegetation is beautiful red coloured after the snow melt. Black Grouse lek normally continues 3- 4 hours after sunrise.

Remember

Please start your photography session slowly. Black Grouse arrive to the leksite around the sunrise and it is often too dark to take images anyway, so it make sense for let them come down and start their lekking properly. Sometimes they listen on ground for fairly long time (5 minutes or so) before they start their lekking. By letting them to get fired up you have much better chances for prolonged photography with them!

Please avoid sudden movements in hide. Although birds are quite used to photographers, it is still possible to disturb their lekking by moving the lens quickly or by giving too much noise. Remember also that birds have ears, and if you need to communicate with your fellow photographer, please do so in whispers, never speak loudly in hide.

Jari Peltomäki