Bird Notes - North Wales
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Talks and lectures
  • About
  • FEATURES
  • The Birds of Wales

East winds and the moon herald Woodcock arrival

30/10/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Woodcock (Paul Leafe)
November brings winter visitors from the east: Fieldfares, Bramblings, Waxwings and Woodcocks. The first full moon of November is a Woodcock Moon, such is its association with winter arrivals for generations. Woodcock are unusual among waders for being crepuscular, moving out of woodlands at dusk to probe for worms, insect larvae and snails in soft earth on pasture. Their large eyes, capable almost of 360-degree vision, watch for predators as they feed.

Woodcocks that breed in British woods are declining rapidly. When the shooting season opened on 1 October, they were at risk from shooting, before migrants arrive from the east. In response to a petition to Parliament, which has now passed 75,000 signatures [on 28 November] and calls for the shooting season to be delayed until 1 December, the Government has said that it “intends to review the list of species, including Woodcock, on Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 including the benefits of altering the close season”.

Research by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust says that “for those that shoot Woodcock, beginning shooting after 1st December provides a useful rule of thumb… Delaying shooting until the majority of these migrants, that originate from stable continental populations, have arrived reduces the risk of any possible impact to vulnerable resident populations.”

Many shoots prohibit Woodcock shooting until later in the winter and some support a change in the law as being in line with scientific advice. The GWCT advises that “Restraint when shooting Woodcock makes sense even in areas where there are no local breeders, because we know that the majority of migrant Woodcock are extremely faithful to the same wintering site year on year. Overshooting will therefore break the migratory link with your shoot and is likely to lead to fewer Woodcock being seen in future."
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Bird notes

    A weekly update of bird sightings and news from North Wales, published in The Daily Post every Thursday.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Talks and lectures
  • About
  • FEATURES
  • The Birds of Wales