A closer look at the veterans

Eight of the woodcock we are tracking this year were caught and tagged prior to 2015 – either in spring 2013 or spring 2014. This means we are currently following their outward migration for the second or third time.

Irena's journey

Three of these birds are already at the breeding sites they visited last year. These are:

Irina – who has travelled from Ireland to the exact same site in Norway in spring 2014 and 2015.

Wensum – who was tagged in Norfolk in spring 2013. Wensum has wintered in Germany the past two winters and has returned to the same wood in Finland each year.

St. Brendan – who flew from Ireland to Latvia in 2014 and 2015.

Unsurprisingly these three, who have already finished their migrations, are those who travel the shortest distances.

Knepp and Olwen are both pretty close to the breeding sites they have used in previous years (Finland and Russia respectively) and appear to be heading in the right direction. Nastasia also appears to be plotting the correct course but still has 500 or so km left to travel before she reaches her Russian breeding grounds.

Remy has not transmitted data for some time so we are unsure of her exact whereabouts. Assuming she is a) still alive and b) returning to the same breeding site she ought to be en route to eastern Latvia. The last we heard she was in Belgium, but that was on the 22nd March.

The final bird is Monkey III. Monkey III should be heading towards Western Russia by now. Last year he/she had arrived on his/her breeding site by 30th April. This year, however, Monkey III has not yet left the UK and is still sending regular and accurate data from Hampshire. This seems very strange – we didn’t expect birds to ‘opt out’ of migration! Either Monkey III is leaving it very late to leave or there is something wrong with him/her.

Whilst Monkey III appears to be alive and moving around on a regular basis, there may be an issue that is preventing him/her from achieving the condition required to migrate – perhaps the result of a parasite, illness or old injury.

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Remy returns

At this time of year we are preparing the Woodcock Watch website for a new batch of birds. The new tags are currently being deployed across the UK and arrangements are being made to get the class of 2015 online before the spring migration starts. This task also involves assessing the activity of the current birds and removing those that are missing or dead.

One such bird, removed last week, was Remy. Remy last transmitted from Latvia back in October, and after nearly five months of silence, we assumed that that was the last we would ever hear from her. Until yesterday, when out of the blue, Remy got in touch with us in the form of a single transmission from Scotland. She has now been reinstated on the website. This new location shows her very close to her tagging location in the Highlands.

We are always hopeful that will see one or two of these miraculous resurrections; in most winter there are usually a couple of birds that manage to do this. Remy’s tag must have lost charge during the winter when days were short and sunlight intensity low.

Now, with spring fast approaching, the tags are receiving more light, their solar-powered batteries are recharging and for the first time in months they are able to transmit. Let’s just hope that Remy’s battery stays well-charged and that we can track her back to Latvia for a third spring.

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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.

 

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: Remy returns to the Highlands

We're pleased to report that Remy has transmitted data for the first time since last summer.

Having left the Scottish Highlands in March she was last known to be in Latvia but we're thrilled that she reappeared in the Highlands last week having covered over 4,200km on her journey.

The satellite image below shows Remy's current location (Ry) in relation to her original location from where she began her journey last March. She is just 10km away.

 

The thing we can't be sure of is how long has Remy been back because this is the first data she has sent for months. It is unclear whether she has only just returned to the country or whether her tag has only just recharged.

 

It may seem unlikely that a migratory bird, that is 'supposed' to arrive in Autumn, has only just returned to her wintering site in mid-February when winter is almost over. But it may be the case. This appears to be what Amy, one of our Irish birds, has done. We can be more sure that Amy was still migrating up until early February as, unlike Remy, she sent data en-route proving she had not reached her wintering site in Western Ireland before the 11th February.

 

It is a long migration to make for a short stay - we would expect both Remy and Amy to have to return to the breeding grounds in only a month or so's time. Will we now see more woodcock, such as Wensum, following suit?

 

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New data for Remy

We've received new data from Remy - she's still in Latvia and enjoying the relatively mild weather there.