Autumn Progress

In early October the first few migrant woodcock begin to arrive.  The vast majority, however, will not be here until November or even later; in an average year birds are still arriving through December. Last week I heard the first reports of migrants seen on the east coast but our satellite-tagged birds are showing little in the way of migratory behaviour.

The GWCT’s Woodcock Watch project tracks the migrations of British wintering woodcock across Europe; over the last three years the project has followed the fates of thirty-nine individuals using state of the art tracking technology.

In February and March, woodcock are caught and fitted with lightweight tags which are able to provide a near real-time relay of their outward spring migration. The devices are equipped with tiny solar-panels, and providing they receive enough sunlight, they should remain charged to track their returning journeys in the autumn and in some cases, in subsequent years. In 2014, we tracked twenty-five woodcock; seventeen of which were caught this spring and eight of which were tagged in previous years but whose transmitters were still active. All but one tag provided useable data and twenty of our birds completed a spring migration.

Eleven of these migrated to breeding sites in Western Russia. There were three woodcock that chose relatively southern locations in the area west of Moscow and east of the Belarussian border, whilst another eight settled in the more northerly region east of Finland. One of these birds, James, was amongst the most northerly breeders Woodcock Watch has tracked, visiting a site close to Arkhangelsk on Russia’s White Sea. Other tagged woodcock this year headed for Finland, Latvia and Norway.

The birds we have been able to track in multiple years have demonstrated that woodcock remain loyal to the same breeding site year on year. Rebecca, in particular, has been a striking case in point and has returned annually to the same wood in Russia since being tagged in February 2012. In just the three years we have monitored her, she has covered a total distance of 15,000 km from Wales to Russia and back two and a half times. We have yet to conclusively prove it, but we believe that birds like Rebecca are returning to breed at sites close to where they hatched as chicks; research suggests this to be so in most other wading bird species.

Nastasia

We are still receiving data from many of the tagged woodcock and transmissions have remained encouragingly frequent this year, but so far most are only showing small scale movements on the summering grounds. Instinctively, the woodcock will be anticipating the long flight ahead of them and are probably busy trying to find sufficient food to reach an optimum physical condition.

The only bird that appears to have begun her autumn migration is Nastasia. She was tagged in County Cork, Ireland, in March 2014. During the first two weeks of April she made her way to Western Russia via Belgium, Germany and Poland, ultimately settling in a site not far from St. Petersburg. Here she remained until early October. On the 18th October her tag sent fresh data showing her to be in Lativa, having flown the first 600 km of her westward migration.

It remains to be seen when the rest of the birds will depart. The weather in Finland and Western Russia is still relatively mild, but this appears to be changing. If the temperature continues to drop, we would expect this to prompt migration in those woodcock that have yet to leave. Typically, the average woodcock migration consists of a long, sustained flight over a relatively short time period, followed by a break of a week to ten days’ rest before the next long flight. Migrating in stages keeps the birds ahead of the oncoming cold weather and gives them an opportunity to feed and recover en route. This could mean it is another month or more before they are back in the UK and Ireland.

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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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Rebecca returns to the same patch of forest three years running

Rebecca is the only bird that we have followed through the entire duration of the Woodcock Watch project. Tagged in spring 2012, we have received good-quality data from Rebecca each summer since.

The maps below show just how faithful Rebecca is to a single breeding site. Each year she visits the same forest in Somensk Oblast, Western Russia.

Rebecca was a juvenile when caught in 2012, so we know she hatched in 2011. This means she will be celebrating her third birthday this summer. How many more times will she make this impressive 1,500 mile journey?

Track Rebecca's journey online >

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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.

Location Update: Rebecca crosses into Russia

Rebecca has crossed from Belarus to Russia and is now close to her breeding site. She was in Wales on 14th March and has stopped over in Slovakia and Belarus on her journey to Russia.

 

 

Find out more about Rebecca and track her journey online >

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.

Sunny weather leads to glut of new location data

We've received a rush of new location data including information from birds who we haven't heard from in a while. The sunnier weather has obviously recharged the satellite tags so we can gladly share the following location updates:

Rebecca

Tagged in 2012, Rebecca is in Wales for a 3rd Winter having travelled to western Russia.

St. Brendan

Last heard from in October, St. Brendan has sent data from his winter site in Cork, Ireland having returned from Latvia.

Olwen

Having left East Yorkshire on the 3rd March, Olwen was in Denmark by the 5th. Now she's on the Sorve Peninsula in Estonia!

Crugith

More data has been received from Crugith's location close to her catching site in Cornwall after her return from Siberia.

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.

How fast do woodcock fly, where do they go to breed and are they site-faithful?

We now have some fascinating insights into woodcock behaviour and migration after fitting a further 13 birds with satellite tags early this spring.

Tagged at six sites across Britain and Ireland the birds have made it to their breeding sites and have settled in Sweden (1), Finland (1), Latvia (2), north-west Russia (7) and central Russia (2).

Monkey, from the first batch of birds, who astonished everyone by flying to central Siberia to breed last summer, is still alive and back at the same breeding site this year. We estimate that he has now flown at least 38,000 kilometres (km) (23,750 miles) during his life.

This year he has been joined in Siberia by Woody II and Crugith, who have flown 6,980km (4,360 miles) and 7,100km (4,440 miles) respectively. Clearly, this is an important breeding area for some of the woodcock that winter in Britain, a fact that we would never have discovered without satellite tracking.

With information from 24 woodcock, we are now getting close to the sample size required to appreciate individual differences in the behaviour of birds tagged at the same and different winter sites.

We now know that woodcock migration consists of a series of long, fast flights of 600-1,100km (375-690 miles), broken up by stops en route typically lasting 7-15 days. Flight speed averages about 30km/h (19mph), but can reach 93km/h (58mph). Monkey and Rebecca have demonstrated that woodcock can be extremely faithful to the same breeding and winter sites each year.