WINTERWATCH 2014 - Have you seen a Black grouse lek? - share your experiences

MrsT, thank you very much for rubbing this one in!!  I am sat here watching Winterwatch with my wife and have never seen Black Grouse, whilst she is taking great pleasure in reminding me that she has.

We were with a group in Loch Garten looking at the Capercaillie and her group got views and were taken quite quickly on to the Grouse.  I was left behind waiting for the Capercaillie.  She has never let me forget it.

Ah... oops sorry Bob. I've never seen one either.

Black Grouse leks are definitely something to experience - is the RSPB going to have any organised watches this year, or are there any organised by other groups?

I have visited leks in northern England and Scotland and hope to get to one again this year. At some point I also home to get to a lek that I can get close enough to for some decent photos.

Unfortunately disturbance, including unintentional disturbance, can be a big problem at some leks, so it is best not to openly post details of where they are (unless of course there is an organised watch - in which case people should be encouraged to visit these instead of going elsewhere!). Organised watches tend to be a fair distance from the birds but the cooing of the lekking males carries and good views can still be had using a scope (or good binoculars).

When visiting most other leks, to avoid disturbance it is often necessary to arrive before it is light, stay in the car, and not leave until lekking has finished.

We are lucky,we are in easy travelling distance of at least 3 lekking sites plus a couple of spots where they can be seen feeding during the day.There is a Black Grouse recovery project ongoing in our recording area but it was still nice to see the ones on t.v.