Archive complete

Finally, all bird species of the Western Palearctis, photographed until December 2016, are online in the Archive. I just finished uploading with photos of one of my favourite groups – the Grouses. All birds of this group are elusive and difficult to watch – so every encounter is an adventure.

Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix ssp. tetrix) adult female well hiding behind a trunk. Ural Mountains, Russia, 16.06.2016

I spent hours and hours, trying to find them, watch them, get close to them without disturbing and finally photograph them.

Some of them live in dense thicket like the Hazel Grouse and it is easily reproducible that you hardly see them.

Hazel Grouse (Bonasa bonasia ssp. volgensis), motionless hiding in a tree. Bialowieza, Poland, adult male

But others are just in the open like the Rock Ptarmigan. Nevertheless it took me a lot of time to discover them during winter time.

Rock Ptarmigan 8Lagopus muta ssp. helvetica), Germany, adult male, winter plumage

They sometimes dig themselve into the snow for resting and all you see later are their tracks.

Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta ssp. helvetica), track coming from the left. It dug into the snow for resting and later walked further to the back

But as soon as you are rewarded with a real encounter, you know it was worth the effort.

Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta ssp. helvetica) jumping adult male, 28.12.2013, Germany

Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus ssp. crassirostris), Germany, adult male, displaying

Black Grouse (Lyrurus tetrix ssp. tetrix), Germany, adult male

Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica), Great Britain, winter group

Willow Grouse (Lagopus lagopus ssp. koreni), Russia (Ural), adult male hiding behind a bush

Hazel Grouse(Bonasa bonasia ssp. volgensis), adult male. An extremely lucky moment, in which the Hazel Grouse perched on this truck. Bialowieza, Poland, 24.04.2014

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