Is Olwen our first woodcock back in Britain?

New data received this morning show one of our Welsh birds, Olwen, is back in the UK. This new location comes from the East Riding of Yorkshire and is the first provided by Olwen’s tag since early September. As Olwen was caught in Wales last winter, we would expect to see him/her returning to a similar location this year. It seems likely that this is the first stop-off on his/her way across the UK back to mid-Wales.

It is the first time this winter that one of our birds has sent data from within the UK - but it may not necessarily mean that Olwen is the first bird back. Other woodcock, such as Lanyon and Crugith, were making good progress across Europe but we have not received recent data from these birds. It may be that these two, or others, have slipped into the UK already – but have passed ‘beneath our radar’. If this is the case we can only hope that their tags send us data soon, letting us know where they are now.