Black Grouse
Black Grouse lek is an unforgettable photography experience! During the lek, males compete for the attention of females by showing their shiny black and blue plumage and spreading their lyre-shaped tails. The bubbling calls echo in the morning, snow powders and feathers fly when the males measure each other fiercely. Black Grouse lek is the highlight of spring – and possible to capture from our hides!
Black Grouse photography hides from 140 € / session
Photography experience of your dreams
Book our Black Grouse hide
Book our Black Grouse hide
140 € / single hide / morning
250 € / two person hide / morning (125 € / person), for persons traveling together
440 € / 4 mornings in the hide (110 € / person / morning), package can be used alone or with a friend
It is easy to enter our Black Grouse hides on your own with our instructions. If you want guidance at hide, we charge a 100 € guidance fee / booking. Full payment is required when booking. Prices do not include transportation. Black Grouse hide can be also booked from our office via email at info(@)finnature.fi or via phone at +358 45 129 4264.
Book Black Grouse hide from our web shopTwo seasons: the hectic spring lek and the charming autumn lek
Spring lek 15th March – 15th May
In spring, Black Grouse photography season starts in March and lasts until mid-May in Oulu area. The “hen week”, meaning the mating, takes place in late April and in early May – this is when the females arrive to the lek.
Autumn lek 15th September – 31st October
Black Grouse have a lek in autumn as well! Their lekking activity might not be as intense as in spring but usually there are more individuals at leks in autumn – this is because also the young males join the lek in autumn. The old males return to the traditional lek sites to claim their spots and the young ones learn the sites from them. Photography season in autumn lasts from mid-September until the end of October. Images from the autumn lek are very different to those from spring, as the surroundings are so different – full of autumn colors and charming lighting!
You can combine our Black Grouse hides with our Golden Eagle hides in March and in September-October, with our Eagle Owl hides throughout the season, and with our Ruff hides in May. Remember also our new 10 ticket hide package!
Have a look at images taken from these hides in our Flickr gallery for Black grouse hides.
Hide details
Our new Black Grouse photography site is located in a small field opening in between forests in Muhos. This site is easily accessible by car and a short walk. We have four similar two-person hides at this site; all hides have the possibility for low angle and a little higher angle. Hides have backlighting and in clear mornings the light is gorgeous!
Our hides are comfortable: they have sleeping mattresses, sleeping bags and pillows, as well as foldable chairs for photography. There are gel candles to provide warmth on the chilly mornings.
Recommended equipment for Black Grouse hides
Entry to Black Grouse hides is early in the morning – the hides can be cold when entering. In early spring, you need to be ready in the hide one hour before sunrise, and during the most hectic lek later in spring, two hours before sunrise. In autumn, it is enough to be ready in the hide half an hour before sunrise.
The nighttime temperatures can drop below minus degrees, especially early in the spring and then again in autumn. We recommend to dress warmly in layers and take at least a hat, gloves, woolen sweater and woolen socks with. There are also gel candles to provide some warmth in the hides. The field can get wet and we recommend to use rubber boots for entering the hides. Shoes must be taken off in the hides to stay comfortable and clean – there are shoe rack outside of the hides for shoes. There are no toilets in the hides.
All lenses with 100-800 mm focal length are usable in Black Grouse photography. The distance to birds varies a lot as the birds move around the lekking arena and different lenses are useful to obtain different images. If you can choose, we recommend to take for example a combination of 70-200 mm and 500 mm lenses with you, as well as converters. Please note that it is not allowed to change lenses during the hide session as this might scare the birds away.
If you book a single hide, you will have four shooting openings to use – two at a lower and two at a higher level. In two person hides, both photographers have two shooting openings to use – one at low angle and the other about 1m higher.
Take your own ball head with you. Ball heads are attached to metal ground pods either on the floor or on the shelf. Tripod cannot be used in these hides.
We will provide instructions for Black Grouse hides after booking.
