Flurry of activity as woodcock begin their return

A number of our tagged woodcock have now started their journeys back to the UK and we have received a flurry of location updates:

Amy is now in Belarus having left Russia

James is currently in Estonia having now left Russia

Lanyon has reached Poland after leaving Russia

Rocky has made it to Germany after leaving Russia

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First Woodcock Watch location updates for September

We've received our first location updates for September from a number of our tagged woodcock.

Amy, Knepp, Lanyon, Remy, Rocky, Smithy, St Brendan and Wensum have all sent data.

In St Brendan's case it is the first update we have received since 10th June. Still in Latvia, St Brendan has covered over 2,300km since leaving Ireland at the end of March.

 

Woodcock Watch Location Data

 

Click here to view location data for each of our tagged woodcock.

 

Four woodcock have now passed the 4,000km mark

Four of the woodcock taking part in our Woodcock Watch project have now covered over 4,000km on their journeys.

 

Amy, BFC, Lanyon and Olwen have all travelled furthest so far with James and Smithy not far behind.

 

Click here to view the latest location data for all woodcock.

 

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Clear evidence of breeding site fidelity in woodcock

I know we’re constantly talking about site fidelity – but it’s interesting especially when demonstrated so clearly as it is in the maps below (click to enlarge them). It’s obvious that these birds repeatedly return to the same areas to breed – which has conservation implications for the areas where the largest concentrations reside.

As for the question as to why Crugith has not been so faithful– we think she must’ve picked up some sort of injury, disease or parasite that has prevented her from reaching the desired level of fitness. There are no breeding birds in Cornwall so it is impossible that she is breeding there – she’s just sitting out the summer because she could not attain the condition required to return to Siberia. She is still alive as her movement appears to be normal, but there must be some underlying health issue.

It's worth noting that of the birds featured in the maps below, Remy, Amy, Rebecca, Lanyon, Wensum are all females. St. Brendan and Olwen are both of an unknown sex so could also be females. So the site fidelity we are seeing is definitely true of females but we don’t have any data for males – at least not in 2014. Last year, however, we had Monkey - a male who travelled to exactly the same site in 2013 as he did in 2012.

Amy

St. Brendan

Crugith

Lanyon

Olwen

Remy

Wensum

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New chart shows latest Woodcock Watch data at a glance

Our woodcock are continuing their journeys across Europe and we've just received location updates for each of them.

The new chart below shows details for each bird and updates automatically on our website and blog as soon as we enter new data:

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Busy Easter period sees flurry of woodcock activity

Our woodcock were very active over the Easter period with many of them on the move across Europe.

 

 

Location updates

 

Amy - in western Russia after leaving Ireland and stopping over in Holland, Poland and Belarus.

 

BFC - has made it to Russia after leaving Wales and stopping in Lithuania and Latvia.

 

Jack - following stops in Denmark and Estonia, Jack has arrived in Russia after leaving Scotland.

 

James - left Wiltshire and has travelled north east through Poland and Latvia to reach Russia.

 

Knepp - currently in Finland after leaving Sussex and arriving via Germany and Estonia.

 

Lanyon - has flown into Russia from Cornwall after stopping off in Belarus.

 

Olwen - currently in north west Russia after stopping in Denmark and Latvia.

 

Rebecca - flew south east from Wales to Slovakia and then north east into Russia.

 

Remy - left Scotland for Denmark and now currently in Latvia.

 

Rocky - has flown from Cornwall to Russia via Germany and Poland.

 

Smithy - left Bristol for Poland before flying north east to Russia via Belarus.

 

St Brendan - flew east from Ireland to Poland and has since moved north east to Latvia.

 

Wensum - having never returned to the UK, Wensum has revisited Finland from Germany.

 

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New location updates for 13 woodcock

With our birds now on the move across Europe we've received a large number of new location updates over the weekend.

 

 

Amy - has moved east from Ireland through Germany and Poland and is now in Belarus.

 

BFC - travelled north-easterly from Wales to Lithuania and is currently in Latvia.

 

Jack - on the move east from Islay and now in Northumberland.

 

Knepp - has travelled nearly 2,500km to Finland, passing through Germany, Lithuania and Estonia.

 

Lanyon - currently in Belarus having left Cornwall at the end of February.

 

Monkey III - flew north from Hampshire to Yorkshire and has since flown east to northern Poland.

 

Olwen - currently in Latvia having stopped over in Denmark.

 

Rebecca - initially travelled south-easterly to Slovakia and then north-easterly to Russia.

 

Remy - now in Latvia after leaving Scotland and stopping over in Sweden and Lithuania.

 

Rocky - newly tagged bird now in Poland after leaving Cornwall and stopping in Germany.

 

Smithy - tagged this March in Somerset, Smithy has made it to central Poland.

 

St. Brendan - left Ireland at the end of March and is now in Latvia after stopping in Poland.

 

Wensum - having never made it back to the UK, Wensum has left Germany and returned to Finland.

11 exciting new location updates

We've received a large number of location updates including some exciting news from our newly tagged woodcock.

Amy - currently in Lithuania after leaving Ireland and stopping in Holland and Poland.

BFC - tagged in Wales this March, BFC is sponsored by the British Falconers Club and is currently in Latvia.

Knepp - another new bird, Knepp is sponsored by Knepp Castle Estate and has already made it to Russia having stopped in Germany and Poland.

Lanyon - currently in Belarus after leaving Cornwall in the middle of March.

Monkey III - newly tagged in Hampshire, Monkey III has headed north and is currently in Lincolnshire, perhaps on the way to Scandinavia.

Olwen - having left Yorkshire Olwen is currently in Latvia after stopping in Denmark.

Rebecca - left Wales in the middle of March and has made it to Russia, stopping in Slovakia en route.

Remy - left Scotland and flew east to Denmark and is currently in Latvia.

Rocky - newly tagged in Cornwall, Rocky flew east to Germany and is currently in Poland.

St. Brendan - having left Ireland in early March, St. Brendan flew to Poland and is now in Latvia.

Wensum - the bird that never returned, Wensum wintered in Germany and is currently in Denmark, possibly heading back to Finland.

New woodcock location updates just in

We've received a number of exciting new location updates today from our migrating woodcock:

Rebecca didn't stay in Slovakia long. She's corrected her course and is now in Belarus. She's not far from her Russian summer home.

Lanyon has left Cornwall and is now in Belarus. If she repeats last year's migration, then Western Russia will be her final destination.

Remy is the first of the Scottish birds to move and is currently in Southern Sweden. Probably heading for Latvia as she did in 2013.

St. Brendan left Ireland on the 10th March, was in Poland by the 20th and is now up in Latvia where he spent summer 2013.

Have you met our new woodcock? Click here to see them and track their journeys.

Location Update: Lanyon back in Cornwall

It’s great to see that Lanyon’s tag has started working again and is transmitting data from her capture site in South Cornwall. This comes after several months of silence; our last fix from Lanyon was from Poland in mid-November.

It seems likely that this sudden return is due to a boost in battery power; the solar-powered tag must be recharging in the slightly brighter conditions.

As chance would have it, we were in Cornwall last week, trying to catch woodcock for our geolocators study. Though night-time conditions were wet and windy, there were some pleasant sunny spells during the day, and this extra sunshine is probably responsible for Lanyon’s revival.

It won’t be long until our winter visitors are leaving again. It would be very interesting to track Lanyon’s spring migration for a second year, to see how it compares to that of 2013. Fingers crossed the sunny conditions will continue and Lanyon will keep in touch this spring!

Find out more about Lanyon >

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.

Why so quiet?

Many regular viewers of Woodcock Watch may have noticed a recent lack of activity from the tagged birds. This is in contrast to observations from the field – many sponsors have written to us to say that the woodcock seem to be reappearing in the UK now. So why is there so little movement?

We believe that the problem relates to the tags’ batteries. The tags are solar-powered and need to be recharged by the sun. It is possible that during the bird’s moult, due to a change in the woodcocks’ behaviour, the tags were not receiving sufficient sunlight and have run completely flat. To fully recharge a battery from flat will take about 4 hours of bright sunlight. It may be that the tags are not receiving this. Day length is short and sunlight intensity low in the northern locations where the birds have spent the autumn, not to mention the fact that the birds are often hidden during the day.

Those who followed Woodcock Watch last year will remember the same issues in our first autumn. However, this year’s results have been noticeably better and the tags have returned far more data. Crugith and Lanyon for instance have transmitted useful results through the majority of their autumn migration and we hope that more such data is on its way.

It is more than likely that some of the birds have died. Crousa, who we have not heard from since May, and Elissa, who has not sent data since June, are probably no longer alive. Annual survival rates are around 60% for woodcock - that is to say that around 40% of the adult population do not survive from one year to the next. Lifespan does not typically exceed 4 years. It is perfectly natural that we lose a few of our woodcock over the course of a year.

But for birds like St Patrick, Skittle, Amy and Rebecca, who last transmitted in August or September, there is still hope. It is possible that their tags will receive the sunlight they require in the coming weeks and will then begin transmitting data again. We observed this pattern in 2012 with several individuals sending winter locations after an autumn quiet period. It is possible that some of these birds, when we next here from them, will be back here in the UK.

New location data for Crugith and Lanyon

Crugith and Lanyon continue to set the pace for the return to the UK. Crugith is currently in Berkatal in central Germany:

Lanyon meanwhile is hot on Crugith's heels and is currently in Pierkunowo, Poland:

Has Lanyon been blown off course?

New data from Lanyon shows she's moved in a northerly direction. Have strong winds blown her off course? News will appear here as soon as we get it.

Lanyon taking it easy in western Russia

It would appear Lanyon is currently taking things slowly in western Russia. It's quite typical for woodcock to stop mid-migration and rest for a period of about 10 days or so.

Lanyon pushes west beyond Moscow

Lanyon is continuing her journey west and has just passed Moscow. She's currently only a couple of hundred kilometres from the border.

Crugith & Lanyon making strong headway

Several of the birds are returning regular data right now, but two in particular seem to be making strong headway with their autumn migrations.

Crugith, one of our two Cornish/Siberian birds, has spent the past month travelling the breadth of Russia and is now closing in on the border. The 2,800 km that she has travelled so far sees her just past the halfway mark of her mammoth journey. She appears to be taking a more southerly route than our other Siberian migrants; something she also did on the outward trip. We’re very interested to see if she passes through the Ukraine as she did in the spring; when studying migration the routes and stop-offs are just as interesting and important as the final destination.

Lanyon is also heading back and making good progress. Her journey may only be around half of that travelled by Crugith, but with the exception of the three Siberian birds Lanyon is our easternmost breeder. So far Lanyon has covered around 600 km since she left a month ago. Both birds are now between 600 and 700km from the Russian border.

Who do you think will be the first to leave Russia? If not Lanyon or Crugith, could it be Rebecca or Amy, both of whom bred close to the border?

Outside of Russia, none of our birds are showing signs of significant moving. St Brendan and Wensum have both sent data within the past couple of weeks and neither have moved away from their summer sites yet.

Crugith

Lanyon

Updates on Crugith and Lanyon

New data shows that Crugith has managed to cover another 750 km since she last sent data and is now near Saransk, Russia. 

Meanwhile Lanyon has flown just short of 400km since 7th October and is now getting close to Moscow.

New data recorded by Lanyon

New data shows Lanyon on the move in Russia - only 100km from her breeding site so far; but it's a start!

View Lanyon's profile here >