03/05/2026
It begins with a fierce clacking and hissing less than ten meters from my tent, an hour and a half before sunrise. The full moon allows me to at least vaguely guess the size of the noise-makers. With every passing minute, the spirits of the forest become clearer: capercaillies performing their courtship dance. A spectacular experience, both aurally and visually—one that has become rare. Not only because these dark, goose-sized birds are extremely shy. They live hidden away as forest spirits for most of the year. Only for a few days in the spring do their hormones make them forget almost all caution: to impress the females and show off to the other males.
In Germany, it’s almost impossible to encounter these mystical birds. Capercaillies are virtually extinct. There are healthy populations in the Black Forest and the Alps left, but the others are on the brink of extinction or, as in Lower Lusatia, must be painstakingly nursed back to health.
The fact that I was able to observe, photograph, and film them from my camouflage tent wouldn’t have been possible so quickly without knowledge and experience of Sabrina Logais. Sure, I could have set up the tent on my own somewhere in the woods and made myself comfortable. But the likelihood of capercaillies suddenly displaying right in front of my camera would have been practically zero. Merci beaucoup!
