Season; April 10th - May 10thCost; 200 Euro pr person pr session. Minimum two nights per person or two persons per night.
Max 3 persons per night
Booking; email here
You are
about to experience the amazing theater of lekking Black Grouses. The following
details can help you to prepare and to make sure that you get the most out of
your night – AND to make sure that the birds are not disturbed by your
presence.
YOUR
GUIDE, Mr. Terje
Kolaas, can be reached on phone +4790836246 or mail terjekolaas@runbox.no
MEETING
POINT AND TIME is
at the Esso gas station at Åsen (about 20 km south of Levanger) at 18:00. The
address to be found here. From the meeting point we will
drive into the forest where you park your car for the night. Please inform us
in front of your arrival if you do not intend to bring your own car. If so, we
will gladly transport you and pick you up the next morning for an additional
cost of 500 NOK.
WALKING
TO THE HIDE will
only take 5 minutes. The bog will be wet, so water proof boots (Wellingtons
recommended!) are absolutely necessary.
THE HIDE is a DOG-HOUSE pop-up-blind with a
ground square of 170x170 cm. It is equipped with a camping chair, a plastic
floor and a sleeping pad making a dry sleep possible. The hide is not heated,
so the temperature inside will be equal to the one outside, which in late
April/early May will be around 0 degrees C. It is an absolutely must to bring a
sleeping bag or a thermal suit to keep warm. We`re glad to provide a warm
sleeping bag for an additional cost of 300 NOK on request. The hide has no
toilet facilities, so please bring your prefered facility or prepare the way
that suit you most. It is possible to leave the hide for pleasing your nature
between“the evening display” and “the dusk display”. There is 4G cell
phone connection on the site (with Telenor).
WHAT
GEAR TO BRING is
always a matter of your taste. Since it is a very short walk, we recommend to
bring both your short and your longest lenses. A tripod is essential since the
light will be limited and fast lenses (f-stop 2,8 - 4) are always to be
prefered. Some of the birds can be as close as 10 meters away from the hide . The
birds are sensitive to fast movements and sounds, so move your lens very
carefully and dont make any noise! Normal shutter sound is no problem,
though.
WHAT
CLOTHINGS TO WEAR
is again a matter of taste and your personal preference, but water proof boots
and anything that keeps you warm through the night is necessary. If you prefer
to photograph on a low level you have to lay down on the wet floor and water
proof trousers and a water proof jacket is needed to keep you dry.
THE
BLACK GROUSE ROUTINE
is somewhat predictable and normally divided into three parts;
-
the evening display takes place at about sunset (+/- 1 hour). Because of this you should be
ready in your hide at 20:00 o`clock THE LATEST. The evening display ends
when it is all dark and all the birds leave the lek site simultaniously. NB:
it is completely normal that the birds leave the site for short periods (2-10
minutes) during all parts of the lekking. DO NOT LEAVE THE HIDE UNLESS THE
BIRDS HAVE BEEN AWAY FOR MINIMUM 30 MINUTES AT THE EVENING DISPLAY!
-
the dusk display is the next part of the show. It starts anytime between 02:00 and 04:00
at night, so you should be ready in your hide at 02:00 o`clock THE LATEST.
From now you shall under no circumstance leave the hide earlier than 08:30 the
next morning! The dusk display is the most intense part of the lekking and is the part where the females
tend to show up – if they show up. It is totally normal that ALL the birds fly
away simultaniously once in a while, but they will normally not be away for
more than a few minutes. If they dont come back within 20 minutes, they have
probably entered their pause between the dusk display and...
-
the sunrise display. After a longer break all the birds
come back for a last session – lasting anything between 20 minutes and two
hours. This is usually just after sunrise and the length of the session vary.
The birds can take short breaks also during this session. If they have been
away for at least 1,5 hour, you can safely leave the site being confident that
they will not come back again. The show is over for today.
Please
bring everything you brought into the hide back with you when you leave. And we
always appreciate a phone call or a sms confirming that everything went fine
and that the lekking experience was beyond all expectations :)
THANKS
FOR VISITING AND WELCOME BACK!
