Photography and film trials for the Black Grouse

One of the most endangered birds in Switzerland are living near my home, sharing a region together with the Western Capercaillie.

The birds are quite big, but you can be lucky if you can see them. Wandering in the early light of a day and without staring on mobile devices or listening to music helps a lot ...

1st sight in the fog on an spring day, winter is a bit longer in those mountains, back in 2019 and far away:

Be aware to make not big noises and movement, akward the distance. With a few minutes of waiting, he was flying up to an three nearby.

Lucky me - this one was not too afraid of this human being with the big lense. 

Airshow Neuchâtel - July 05th, 2025

One of the interesting shows not only for the program, but also for the landscape at the biggest lake of Switzerland (completely in Switzerland) this summer

- Patrouille Suisse (remember, our F-5E/F Tiger Jets will be end of life in 2027)

- Classic Formation 

- PC-21 Display

stay tuned 

30 years of SPORTHILFE

Another view into my archive ... this time nearly an quarter of an century back in the summer of 2000. There I've loaded my bicycle with my photo gear (main gear that time was an Nikon F4S and Sigma's 170-500mm lens) and rode about 2 hours from Emmen Airfield to the Bürgenstock mountain. No radio scanner available - just waiting for the show going on.

Parts of my gear back then - the beloved Cannondale 3T700 was stolen one year later and never came back

There was an celebration for the 30th anniversary of Switzerland's Sporthilfe (Swiss Sports Aid), an private Foundation and one of the most important sports organizations in the country. The official announcement was about 300 Top Athletes, multiple sport disciplines for testing (BMX Parcours, those where the days) and the famous Swiss Air Force Display Team Patrouille Suisse.

1st surprise where the two flybyes of Airbus A321 HB-IOC (the olympic one - International Olympic Commitee, nice preparation for an sports event) of Swissair, 2nd Surprise was an power demo of Pilatus Aircraft Ltd's flagship back then, the famous Pilatus PC-9.  Other participants like the mixed Pilatus formation, the two Junkers Ju-52 and the Super Puma Display Team where also not known to me as I'm remember. The Patrouille Suisse was no Surprise, but a nice catch anyway.