Woodcock: the snipe of
the woods
Dr Cat McNicol
Woodcock are a popular yet elusive quarry species. Dr Cat McNicol discusses the importance of conserving this iconic woodland bird.
What’s in a name?
The European woodcock, sometimes known as the ‘snipe of the woods’, shares a number of traits with the grassland and moorland-dwelling snipe. What sets them apart from snipe is the woodcock’s strong association with woodland, but to say they will settle in any forested area is a gross misrepresentation.
Internationally, woodcock is a species of ‘Least Concern’ with a stable population trend according to the IUCN Red List. Many woodcock migrate to the UK to spend winter here before returning to Europe and Russia to breed. However, due to changes in their habitat, the resident UK woodcock population is tin decline. Consequently, in 2015 woodcock were upgraded from amber to red-listed on the UK-based Birds of Conservation Concern report due to a decline of their breeding range.
As a shooting community, we already manage over 500,000 hectares of woodland and 100,000 hectares of copses for game shooting. Management of appropriate woodland habitat and predators continues to be vital to the prevalence of woodcock in the countryside.
The Woodcock Moon
Resident woodcock numbers are temporarily boosted each winter by migrant birds, mainly from Scandinavia and even as far east as Russia.
The number of migrant birds has remained stable over time and is even thought to be increasing. These winter migrants tend to arrive en masse in late October, often against the backdrop of a full moon, sometimes referred to as a ‘Woodcock Moon’.
For those of you who are keen shots, a high proportion of woodcock shot in the UK from November onwards, a month after the season truly starts, are more likely to be part of the migrant population. Click here to read more about shooting woodcock in the UK.
Where did all the woodcock go?
Without good woodland, we can’t have woodcock and, as with many of our woodland bird species, their numbers have shown long-term declines since the early to mid 1900s.
Following post-war replanting, woodlands have become bigger, dominated by mature trees and closed canopies, and subject to fewer management practices than in pre-war years.
Woodcock are a casualty of the reduction of coppicing, glade creation and ride maintenance in our woodlands. These practices allow light to reach the woodland floor and encourage scrub and shrub layers which are vital for woodcock foraging, nesting and displaying.
Woodcock, worms and woods
Ideal woodcock woodland is near to open fields, an ideal place to forage for earthworms, their primary food. The wood itself should be a patchwork of open and closed spaces, comprising trees of different ages and heights. Not too much to ask, right?
Woodcock diet predominantly comprises earthworms, so naturally, where there are worms, there are woodcock.
If as a shooting community we can create and maintain habitats filled with plentiful food supplies, we are a step closer to supporting woodcock populations.
Within woodlands, sycamore or birch are much better at supporting earthworms, and as a result, woodcock, compared to a drier, more acidic beech woodland.
Woodcock will fly to fields at night to feed and gain enough energy for mating, nesting and brood rearing. This is especially important in early spring when male displaying and female egg-laying are in full swing.
As we move into summer and fields become drier, the earthworms move deeper into soil, away from the probing bills of the woodcock. Damp woodland conditions then become all the more important for woodcock, providing a supply of earthworms year-round.
Putting the ‘wood’ back into woodcock
It is really not the size but the variety of habitats held within that woodland that are important for woodcock.
Thickets made up of young trees and natural regeneration, for example young conifers or birch, provide excellent nesting habitat for females. Here, ground cover is low so incoming ground-based predators can be spotted, plus overhead cover protects the birds from flying predators. Win-win.
Open glades and rides provide room for mating displays and courtship, but they also create gaps in the tree canopy to enable light to reach the woodland floor. This allows shrubs such as dog’s mercury to grow.
Woodcock love dog’s mercury due to its ability to provide thick ground cover but also easiness to move through while foraging and trying to rear broods. This is especially important when you are a dumpy little bird in a world of small, awkward spaces.
Foxes, cats and owls, oh my!
During the day, a woodcock’s main predators are birds of prey. Creating woodland with good overhead cover is therefore key to reducing woodcock mortality during the day.
At night, when woodcock head into fields to feed, they are more at risk of predation, not only by owls, but by ground-dwelling predators such as foxes and feral cats. As well as creating good cover for woodcock, staying on top of fox numbers will also help to reduce woodcock mortality.
Play your part
By taking practical conservation action and continuing to contribute to bag counts and data collection to understand more about this elusive bird and why it has declined, the shooting community will remain key players in the conservation of an iconic woodland bird.
With updated population trends and bag data expected in coming months, we expect this new information will help guide our approaches to managing habitat and shooting woodcock.
Want to read more blogs?
Head to our Offbeat pages here.
