Black grouses in West Polesie

"The beautiful black grouse, the knight of spring in his black sapphire-sheened armour"* had been an ornament to the wild backwoods of Polesie. However, human activity led to considerable impoverishment of the "wild backwoods" and changes in the natural environment. As a consequence, "the knight of spring" became a rarity.

In 2001 the Polesie National Park initiated a programme for restoration of the black grouse. The programme was financially supported by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water management, as well as by the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Lublin. In spring 2004, for the first time many years, one could once again hear and see fierce blackcock fights in the wetlands of Poleski National Park.

Species' biology

The black grouse Tetrao tetrix is a bird species representing the grouse family (Tetraonidae), customarily referred as "forest hens". The Caucasian black grouse is one of the relatives of the black grouse occuring in Poland. Its more distant relatives include the capecaillie, hazel grouse, willow grouse and ptarmigan.

The range of the black grouse is quite extensive: from middle Asia to Central Europe and Scandinavia. There are also fragmented populations in Western Europe, including the Alps and Great Britain. Wide distribution was the species was possible, inter alia, due to its rather unsophisticated alimentary preferences. During the vegetation season black grouse feed on leaves of herbaceous plants, cranberries, other berries and on cowberry shots. For the first two weeks of their life, nestlings eat nothing else but insects. Later on their diet gradually changes to herbivourous, as that of adults. In winter black grouses eat birch and coniferous tree buds.

The black grouse is an easy prey for a number of predators. Foxes, martens, wolves, badgers, birds of prey - all of them willingly hunt grouses that are poor flyers and slow runners. Black grouses have developed various signals comprising an aerly warning system protecting them against their enemies.

Lekking displays

The reproduction cycle starts with autumn displays, considered an excercise and a rehearsal before lekking proper, which takes place in spring. In early April or even earlier, in late March, males begin ritual fights. They erect their lyre-shaped tails and strikes poses sporting their bright colours. Then, their peculiar red wattles above eyes become inflated. The lekking starts at dawn, with characteristis strutting and wing fluttering. A few minutes later the main vocal display follows. It is called "bubbling" or "rooking", and resembles the sound of water boiling in a pan. In large leks "bubbling" may last for several hours on end. After a few visits to the lek, greyhens choose blackcocks, which have won the central site in the lek.

Restoration project

A considerable decline in the black grouse population is related to habitat changes that took place in the 20th century. Dramatic draining of extensive areas, both in Poland and Europe, has reduce its food resources and natural plant cover protecting it against predators. The black grouse population began to decline, becoming fragmented, the species range shrank, several isolated populations became extinct. The last lekking within the area of Poleski national Park as observed in the 1980's. Black grouse lekking in the Polish part of Polesie still takes place in the nearby Sobibór Forest.

Attempting to restore the black grouse population in the region of Leczna - Wlodawa Plain, Poleski National Park authorities have initiated a campaign for restoration of the species. Their acivities concentrate on two areas. First, preparatory work, included conservation of non-forest habitats: mid-forest meadows and moors. Woods, shrubs and reeds are cut down and the old (higher) ground water table is restored. Second, work directly related to the protected species, included: catching black grouses in the Byelorussian and Ukrainian Polesie, acclimatization of birds in an enclosure, releasing black grouses and their monitoring in the wild.

The 6-years programme of black grouse restitution in Poleski National Park gave positive effects. As proved by year-round observations conducted by the Park’s service, birds hatch and have offspring. The released birds migrated from belonging to the Park area in the vicinity of Moszne Lake (“Mszary”) in various directions, most of them stayed in the main complex of the Park, a discrete number moved to remote peatbogs: “Bagno Bubnów” and “Krowie Bagno”. Some of the birds explored only the vicinity of the Park, and they would come back to the preferred habitats. A place of this kind is the meadow complex called “Zienkowskie Meadows” near the village Lipniak which – according to some ornithologists – in 1960s used to be one of two areas in West Polesie of relatively numerous black grouse existence.

* Włodzimierz Korsak, The Black Grouse, Hunters' Publishing House, Warsaw 1925 [in Polish]