Woodcock broadcast 21-12-06

Tuesday, 12 December 2006

Poor but improving is the general consensus for woodcock. Is mild weather to blame? Professor Colin Trotman rounds up woodcock news from around the British Isles.

The general pattern across the British Isles, Ireland and France throughout November was of few woodcock, with numbers way below those of the past four years. There were two main reasons for this. First, as we were warned by Yves Ferrand, of the French Game Department, the breeding season in some quarters of Russia had been problematic — though a significant number of our migrant woodcock are Scandinavian-born and there the breeding season had been better.

The second reason simply had to be the incredibly mild weather. On a visit to Brittany, from 27 November to 1 December, I spent every day shooting in shirtsleeves. There were butterflies dancing merrily, blackberry bushes bearing new fruit and even lemons on a lemon tree. There were woodcock also, but in far fewer numbers than usual. My host, Dr Jean Paul Boidot, president of FANBPO, received daily messages of "few" or "no" woodcock from across France. Contacts in Britain and Ireland expressed the same frustrations. I suspect the birds were sticking to higher altitudes.

After a week away from Wales, on 2 December I took my dogs after woodcock and found far more birds than before my trip. Contacts in Wales, Ireland and Scotland also noticed an increase. The best we can hope for is a better season condensed into the next weeks. Outside of that we could receive colder weather in late-January, as we did in 2003, when there were woodcock everywhere in February and March. Incidentally, the French shoot up until 20 February!

Scotland
After a very poor October, Michael MacKenzie, at Eilean Iarmain on the Isle of Skye, reported that some woodcock had at last arrived: Had a couple of Guns out roughshooting (17 and 18 November) and flushed 15 and 20 respectively.

On 22 November, Rob Wainwright on the Isle of Coll could report few woodcock. By 29 November matters were improving, though: Out today in foul, foul weather. The moment we set foot on the hill margin we started putting up woodcock. On the edge of the hill we flushed 18 woodcock in 45 minutes. All flew strongly and did not seem fresh-in. The only person in Scotland, and the British Isles for that matter, to have seen significant numbers of woodcock was Andrew Richardson, whose report certainly bucked the trend: Flushed more than 100 birds this week, working with pointers.

Ireland
There were mixed messages from the Republic. Larry Taaffe, secretary of the National Association of Woodcock Ireland, was of the opinion that numbers were high in the west particularly; "Cock Robin", further down in the south west, was less optimistic: Out on 17 November for two hours, flushed 11 and got seven. Numbers in the Burran still low; Limerick also low. South and east Clare seem to have had the bulk of early arrivals. In the Irish midlands, Brian Conlon was working hard: Still slow on 22 November. Typical day would be working damn hard for four or five flushed. Reports from friends no better. A very poor start in comparison to the past couple of years. I think we've seen very few of our migrant birds as of yet.

But David Egan, of County Clare, reported: Before 18 November I hadn't seen any birds. In the week up to 1 December, I found more and more. In the past week I have flushed 25. In Northern Ireland an even more patchy situation existed. Oliver McCullough, in County Fermanagh, reported few woodcock flushed for five outings in November, with only two or so seen on each occasion and a high on 15 November, flushing seven.

England
I have probably received more reports from readers in England this season than ever before. The majority asked the same question — where are the woodcock? Robert Tilney, who shoots at Redisham Hall, Suffolk, did in fact see a few woodcock early in the month: Saw the first woodcock on 1 November and on 4 November we shot a walk-around and saw a dozen or more for three shot.

The Okehampton Woodcock Club had its first day on 15 November: Last Wednesday saw 17 woodcock, missed a few but that's what it's all about. Simon Lester, headkeeper on the Holkham estate, confirmed: I thought we were in for some early woodcock as we had seen birds resting. We shot an area noted for them; saw one, which was disappointing. The woodland is still dark and miserable, however, as the leaves are still on.

In the north east, our North Sea spotter, Chris Trewhit, was back on shore: Saturday 2 December. Not a bad day: saw seven for three shot. Things are improving, hopefully. On the same day Darren Yews, in County Durham, experienced a slight increase: They're starting to arrive in good numbers. Steady increase over the past couple of weeks. Saw eight today for a quick run with the dog.

Mike Appleby, headkeeper on the Honeycombe shoot, in Dorset, was more pessimistic: Shot four days last week and on every day saw woodcock, but not in the numbers we did last year at this time. If they were in we would be seeing more by now.

Wales
This is the worse start to the season I can remember. Across Wales there had been reports, but all in single figures. November was a complete washout, with very few woodcock about. Up until the middle of the month there was little to report, though there were a handful of positives. Lyn Murley reported: Three Crosses shoot, Saturday 10 November: saw 25 for five shot.

Early euphoria had dissipated in the Vale of Glamorgan. Mark Hinge noted rather despondently: Despite the early influx, numbers arriving in the Vale seem to be in single figures. Those seen were strong on the wing, indicating an earlier stopping-off east of Offa's Dyke.

Further west, Roger Evans confirmed more birds had arrived from 22 November. By 27 November, Mike Roberts was also seeing an increase: Had a walk this morning and saw in excess of 30 woodcock. Shot five for seven shots.

Williams, Williams, Jones and Co had barely seen a woodcock throughout November. In fact, it was not until 2 December that fortunes changed. A much happier Eifion Williams declared: 17 flushed in five hours for eight shot. On 2 December, Roger Evans reported: Good news at last: flushed 30 birds on our roughshoot. The shooting was very rough indeed, as only two were shot.

Abroad
I can personally vouch for the fact that numbers are particularly low in Brittany. I was fortunate to have access to some of the most exclusive woodcock shooting in France — unfortunately the birds were simply not there in their usual numbers. In Greece, the situation is much the same, as Tom Mpatselas noted: We are currently flushing five to six birds a day. The weather is warm and wet, the forests still thick. The season so far is not very good.

Conclusion
Despite some upbeat reports it is clear the season so far has been poor, with few woodcock in any part of north-western Europe. This is not simply the result of perceived low reproduction rates; the climatic conditions we are experiencing are sure to be having an impact. By the first week of December there had been a couple of days' northerly winds, no easterlies and only one night of "soft" frost. I would urge readers to keep the information flowing, however. If anyone comes across a short-bill — less than 45mm from the leading edge of the nostril to tip of beak — or any extremes of colouration, such as white primaries or very light- or dark-coloured birds, please freeze the bird and contact me via ST. Of the wings received this season, the age ratio is 60:40 in favour of juveniles.

To keep us updated with all your woodcock news, email STWoodcock@ipcmedia.com For details on the ST Woodcock Club, visit www.shootingtimes.co.uk

Glenfarclas.

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