Latest woodcock locations

Our birds appear to have mostly settled at their breeding grounds now with no major movements recorded recently. New data received from Garth on the 10th June however indicates she is still making her way toward the Russian border with Kazakhstan.

Latest location data

 

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How do we catch and tag woodcock?

Before fitting woodcock with satellite tracking tags we first need to catch them. This is done by dazzling them with a spot-lamp on fields at night and using mist-nets across woodland rides to catch them leaving or returning to woodland at dusk or dawn.

Unfortunately for us, dark, windy nights are best for catching woodcock, usually around the time of the new moon.

Once we have captured each bird we measure them and attach a small numbered metal leg ring provided by the BTO. Catching and ringing requires training and practice and therefore our work is performed under license.

After ringing each bird we then fit a satellite tag and geolocator to the lower back with an elasticated leg-loop harness. Hypo-allergenic tubing is then applied in order to prevent abrasion or discomfort. The tagging process takes between 3 and 4 minutes and the birds are then released from their capture location.

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5 things we’ve learnt from our woodcock satellite research

With satellite technology improving all the time we've been able to conduct our woodcock research over the last three years by attaching small satellite tags to each of our birds.

The information provided by the tags has provided some fascinating insights including the following:

1. Departure times are typically mid-March to early April from winter sites and late September to late October from breeding sites.

2. There is a mixing of migrants at wintering sites – birds tagged at the same winter site often flew to different breeding locations.

3. Some birds fly extraordinary distances – three birds have travelled distances of 6,180-7,100km (3,860-4,440 miles) to breeding sites in Siberia. One male, tagged as an adult in 2012, is estimated to have flown at least 38,000km (23,750 miles) during his lifetime!

4. Journey times to reach breeding sites can vary from three weeks (northern Norway) to eight weeks (central Russia).

5. Evidence from a few of our woodcock followed for more than one year indicate they use exactly the same winter and breeding sites each year.

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The tags we use are solar powered - and look where Nellie is!

As you probably know, the satellite tags attached to each of our woodcock are solar powered which is why we sometimes go weeks without hearing from certain birds, depending upon their location.

It is therefore quite amusing to note that Nellie is currently in the Norwegian town of Rjukan, located in a valley where three giant mountainside mirrors are used to reflect natural sunlight on to residents in the winter months. Read more about the mirrors here.

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Latest location data for our tagged woodcock

The springtime weather across Europe has enabled us to receive a steady stream of location data from our tagged birds, even if the level of movement has dropped overall. As the map below shows, Garth is still out on her own, currently heading for the Russian border with Kazakhstan.

Latest location data

 

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Garth, Pinks, Penning, Hugh, Smithy & Olwen leading way through Russia

With 11 of our woodcock now having made it to Russia, Garth continues to steam ahead. She's taken a more easterly route than the others, south of Moscow and has clocked up nearly 6,000km. The map below shows the locations of the other birds currently in Russia:

This table shows current location data for each of our Woodcock Watch birds:

 

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European sunshine leading to regular Woodcock Watch updates

The spring sunshine across Europe means our birds are currently relaying a plethora of location data on a daily basis, their current locations are shown on the map below (except Garth -she's flown so far in to Russia she won't fit on the screengrab!)

This year we have several birds who have headed north-east into Scandinavia including City who has travelled less than 1,000k from Scotland to Denmark. After dropping off the radar in February and recently reappearing in Belarus, Hugh has now made it well into Russia

Our birds in Scndinavia - Soval, City, Doc, Ruan and Knepp

The table below show current location data for each bird:

 

Please help us continue our woodcock research