I was looking at the BASC list of open shooting seasons and found "blackgame". I take it this is a bird of some sort. Can anyone tell me what it is?
Just curious.

- stu

A woodland grouse found in Scotland.

Supposed to be inedible due to their diet of pine needles - taste like turpentine. (Maybe that is the Capercaillie?)

Latin name Tetrao tetrix if I am not mistaken, if that is of any help.

Regards,
Martin

Smoked Capercaille - mmmm ! Food to die for - definately not inedible!!

Rgds Ian

Tetrao tetrix. Got it.
Thanks everyone.

They are relativly common in Scandinavia, and fun to hunt both with or without a pointing dog.

Supposed to be inedible due to their diet of pine needles - taste like turpentine. (Maybe that is the Capercaillie?)[/QUOTE] Sounds like the spruce Grouse in Canada, i shot and tried to eat.

...it is considered very precious big game in the Alps - a lot of culture relate on it...the trophy are side curved feathers in the tail of the male - more curved - older bird...back in old days young guys (one that manage to shoot one was desired by girls) used to wear them behind the hat and if you want to make a fight with one, all you have to do is to take those feathers away from him - ...hunting in Alps goes on in spring months (end of april - beginning of may) when mating - there are well known places where males come to show off and fiercely fight to win the place and with it female attention...those places are usually high in the mountains so going on a hunt you must come to the hunting lodge the day before and wake up at 2-3 am to go and reach the waiting place before dawn...waiting for first daylight in freezing cold but unforgetable mountain view agog with expectation for the first mating call and departure of that black knight...many times there are up to 5 males on the place - making show off dance and fighting...those birds are realy brave hart - they surely deserve all the respect...their sight is brilliant and you must be very careful not to spook them...you can either use shotgun or small cal. rifle

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
Supposed to be inedible due to their diet of pine needles - taste like turpentine. (Maybe that is the Capercaillie? Sounds like the spruce Grouse in Canada, i shot and tried to eat.

I've eaten both lots of these, and lots of Capercaille. Never had one that tasted like turpintine though. They have all tasted like grouse/ptarmigan in my experiance.

When I was in Pitlochry a couple of years ago the keeper asked me to go out and try to get a Murder Buck that we had spotted a couple of times while there.

While I lay in the bracken on the bank waiting for him the Black Grouse were flighting back over me to go to roost. Watching them ranks as one of my most memorable experiences while out shooting. Not a lot of places allow you to shoot them any more althoguh a few might get mistakenly taken on a grouse day.

BTW, Mouse: the place where the Black Grouse gatthers for the mating ritual is called a "Lek" over here.

Rgdsm, FB

...their numbers decrease in Alps due to disapearing of their natural habitat...to our American friends - it can be compared to turkey hunt...here are some vids in the bckground you can hear their calls:

http://linux5.serveisweb.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=950

Fallow Buck... that´s strange.
The name of the place where they gather for mating is called a Leik in Norway as well
Most likely the origin is the same root.
Leik or Lek meens to play, a place to play and showe off.
Perhaps ( or most possibly ? ) this is an old norse name wich have been adopted in UK ?

Anyway...I agree fully with Eric D, thouse birds are exellent eating and is regarded as prime game here.
Must be followed by a good red wine thougt

Americans and Continental Euros would refer to them as Black Grouse, to go along with the other UK grouse: Capercallie, Red Grouse, and Ptarmigan.

Black Game is what they are called in the UK, they exist in most of Northern Europe and Western Russia.

I´ve shot a few black grouse -and I mean a few as in not many- during the years and they are delicious! Tough to hunt where they aren´t plentiful and a challenge to shoot.

I have been following this thread and I thought this might be of interest for you Gentlemen

Lynn D


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4539938.stm

Wales is 'haven' for black grouse

Black grouse are not found in many parts of the UK

Wales has become the UK's breeding haven for the rare black grouse, conservationists have revealed.

The small population in Wales has risen by almost 30% since the results of the first major survey a decade ago.

Numbers fell by almost 30% in Scotland - which still has 66% of the UK population. In England, numbers stayed the same.

There are 5,100 males in the UK, and Wales has 213.

Calculations are based on males because they are the most visible of the species, carrying out flamboyant displays to attract partners.

Patrick Lindley, upland species officer with the bird conservation charity RSPB Cymru, said the new figures for the UK - released on Monday - were generally disappointing, apart from the news for Wales.

BLACK GROUSE FACTS

Male: glossy blue-black plumage, striking red wattles, curved black tail feathers; females are camouflaged in reddish brown plumage.

More than 20 males can gather on early spring mornings. Males strut to show off their tail feathers and accompany their circular display with a cooing, bubbling song to attract females.
After mating, male birds go in search of another partner.

The males measure 55cm from bill to tail, have a wingspan of 80cm and weigh around 1.25kg; females 40cm, have a 65cm wingspan and weigh about 950g.

"If the trend continues, it could soon be a conservation catastrophe," he said.

The black grouse is one of the hardest species to help because it has demanding habitat requirements.

It needs dense vegetation, cover for nesting and protection from predators and mature woodland for winter food.

Pairs also need boggy areas, which are home to insects for chicks.

The species was once widespread in Wales and found in Meirionnydd, Montgomeryshire, Carmarthenshire, Breconshire and Ceredigion.

It is now confined to the uplands of north and mid Wales, but the increase in numbers has given conservationists reason to be optimistic. One of the best places to see the male birds displaying or "lekking" is in Coed Llandegla in Denbighshire.

Agencies in other parts of the UK plan to replicate Welsh conservation projects, in the hope of achieving similar success.

The Welsh Black Grouse Recovery Project was launched in June 1999 to halt the bird's serious decline from 264 males in 1986 to 131 in 1997. Without it, the species could have been extinct in Wales by 2010.

'Partnership approach'

Funding from the European Union, the Welsh Assembly Government, the RSPB, Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), and Forestry Commission Wales allowed habitats in six key areas of north and mid Wales to be improved and managed specifically for black grouse.

Mr Lindley said: "The success of our partnership work here in Wales shows that the right habitat measures in the right places are effective."

Siân Whitehead, CCW's senior ornithologist, said the rise in numbers in Wales was encouraging.

"The progress that has been made in conserving the Welsh black grouse population is a good example of what can be achieved through partnership working," she said.

"It is important that this work continues, to ensure that the black grouse population gains that have been made are consolidated, and the species range can be allowed to expand."

Lynn D
It will be just another Langholm moor!
Harriers will move in and devastate the chicks, and the RSPB will do nothing about raptors or be seen to control foxes.. waste of time and money, until the RSPB accept they have to control the raptor population..

regards

griff