Introducing our new Woodcock for 2015

by Chris Heward

It is beginning to look like spring has arrived and so it is with great pleasure (and relief) that we are finally able to introduce the new 2015 batch of satellite-tagged woodcock.

The Woodcock Watch team have been busy throughout February and March catching and satellite-tagging new birds across the UK.

Up on Islay, we have City, Central and Soval, in County Durham, Ariel and in Lancashire, Hugh.

Across in Norfolk there are three new birds, Woody III, Monkey IV and Nellie.

In southern England, we have Pinks in Somerset; Penning and Fonthill Abbie in Wiltshire; Izzie in Dorset; and Ruan in Cornwall.

We have two Welsh woodcock, named Malt and Garth, thanks to the efforts of our long-time collaborator Owen Williams of the Woodcock Network.

As well as these new birds, we have nine woodcock, tagged in previous years, returning for another spring migration. These are Knepp, Wensum, BFC, Remy, Olwen, Quill, Monkey III, Irina and Nastasia.

Knepp and Remy have both started their migrations. Knepp is nearly back on the breeding grounds; (s)he left Sussex on the 7th March and was back in western Finland by the 16th. Now (s)he has just 350km of a 2700km migration left to go (assuming (s)he will return to the same site as last year – this remains to be seen).

Several of the new birds are now following Knepp’s lead though they have only made small starts on their spring migrations. In the past five days, Ruan has made the leap from Cornwall across to Belgium, and Penning and Woody III have both got as far as Germany.

At the moment, most of the UK is experiencing light west and south-westerly winds. Surely this tailwind will encourage the rest of the woodcock to leave? We’re expecting to see the majority of our tagged woodcock departing for Europe sometime soon.

We’d like to thank all of the sponsors and landowners who have made the satellite-tagging possible this year and allowed us to continue this project into 2015!

Please help us continue our woodcock research

 

Knepp first woodcock to begin migration in 2015

Data received this weekend shows Knepp to be the first of our woodcock to migrate. Over the past couple of days (s)he has travelled from his/her wintering site at Knepp Castle in Sussex to western Latvia. This is a journey of around 1600 km.

Knepp spent last spring and summer in Finland. From Sussex, (s)he followed a route that took him/her through Germany and Poland, up through Latvia and Russia, and finally across the Gulf of Finland not far from St. Petersburg. (S)he arrived at his/her breeding site on the 10th April. Knepp’s latest location from Latvia suggests that (s)he is taking a similar route this year.

Last year, Knepp made a migratory pit-stop in the woodland beside Lake Peipus. This huge lake is the fifth largest in Europe and forms part of the border between Estonia and Russia. Knepp rested at this site for over a week last year. We are very interested to see whether (s)he will call in at the same stopover site in 2015.

Knepp was tagged in spring 2014 and survived the 2014 breeding season and following winter. Now we are able to follow him/her into a second year. Knepp will soon be joined on our website by a new batch of 2015 tags. The new tags have been deployed across the UK and Ireland and final arrangements are being made to get their profiles online. We are hoping this should be done for tomorrow.

Whilst they are not yet visible on the website, we have been able to check the progress of the 2015 woodcock. None of the new birds have left the UK yet but with Knepp already in Latvia we are expecting to see some of them departing soon. We are hoping to get them online before this happens; keep an eye on the Woodcock Watch website or twitter page for further updates of our new woodcock!

Please help us continue our woodcock research

 

More great news - now Nastasia and Quill have reappeared

Following the recent reappearance of Remy we are pleased to report that two more of our tagged woodcock have sent new location data for the first time in months.

Nastasia has returned to South-west Ireland having not sent any data since November when she was in Latvia and Quill is once again sending data from Durham.

Please help us continue our woodcock research

 

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.

Please help us continue our woodcock research

 

Irina reappears in Ireland

As day length and sunlight intensity increase, our tags now have a better chance to recharge. This can see the revival of tags that have been inactive over the darker, duller winter months. Knepp’s tag did this early last week: after several months of silence it reappeared and is now regularly sending high-quality data.

Today, a second bird, Irina, has done the same. Irina was tagged in County Cork last spring and, unlike her compatriots that visited Western Russia and the Baltic states, she headed north to Norway. Prior to Irina, the only Norwegian birds we had tagged in the British Isles had all been caught in Scotland.

The last time we heard from Irina was 14 July 2014. No further data regarding her whereabouts had been received until the arrival of two new data-points this morning. These show that Irina is back in Co. Cork at a site very close to where she was caught. We do not know how long Irina has been back in Ireland. It is possible that she has been there since the beginning of the winter, but this is the first opportunity her tag has had to transmit.

Although it means we have missed some potential autumn and winter data, Irina’s sudden return is good news. With luck, her tag will remain charged and we will be able to watch Irina make a second outward spring migration. We’re particularly interested to see whether Irina returns to the same breeding site in Norway later this year.

If and when she does, Irina will be joined by a new batch of tagged woodcock. The satellite tags arrived yesterday and are currently being charged, waiting for deployment across the UK in the coming weeks. We’re hoping these birds will go live in March, and join the likes of Irina and Knepp, as we track a fourth spring migration.

Please help us continue our woodcock research

 

Knepp transmits first data since September - returns home

At this time of year the amount of incoming data is never particularly high. This is always the case during the winter when the short days and low sunlight intensity are unable to keep the solar-powered batteries fully-charged. But there is always the hope, that if the conditions are right for long enough, the inactive tags will find receive enough sunlight to recharge and send new data.

After over five whole months of silence, one tag has managed to do just that. Knepp, a bird caught one year ago in Sussex, has returned new data for the first time since September. This surprising news shows that Knepp successfully completed his/her autumn migration and returned to winter at Knepp Castle; the site where (s)he was caught. This is yet another clear illustration of impeccable site-fidelity. Woodcock which, for the most part, seem loyal to particular breeding sites, wintering sites and stop-overs.

We’re incredibly pleased to receive these new data and we only hope that more tags will follow suit in the coming weeks. However, for those frustrated with the small amount of data being received at the moment – don’t fear. The new tags we’ve ordered are arriving shortly and will be deployed in a fortnight’s time. Once this is done, a new class of 2015 will go online and their spring migrations will be broadcast live from March onwards. Hopefully though, amongst these new birds, there will be one or two returning characters, like Knepp and Olwen, who we can track for a second or third year.

Free woodcock sponsorship for schools

by James Swyer

The GWCT is always keen to promote the importance of game conservation to future generations and in late 2014 we started to offer schools the opportunity to track a woodcock through our Woodcock Watch programme at no cost to them.

Fifteen schools have already signed up to the programme, and have been keenly tracking their bird as it makes its return journey. Interest has been widespread, with schools scattered from Norfolk to Belfast and covering all age ranges from pre-schools all the way up to sixth form colleges. All participants receive a pack including a certificate of sponsorship, factsheet, details of how to track their woodcock and regular email updates about the bird’s location and other relevant GWCT work – all free of charge.

I am delighted with the early feedback and have received telephone calls and emails from teachers telling me that ‘this has brought science to life for our pupils’, ‘it’s generating a lot of excitement’ and ‘my after school club love the fact we are sponsoring a real bird’.

Giving schoolchildren the opportunity to track their own bird as it travels thousands of miles could foster a real passion for our countryside, wildlife or science and we provide a series of lesson plans, produced by the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation Education Trust, to help teachers fit this all in the demands of the National Curriculum. All of these resources (and many more) are freely available to teachers nationwide via the TES website.

By providing information suitable for both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 (ages 7-14), we are complementing the excellent work undertaken by our advisory department and Katrina Candy and introducing the importance of game management to schools to a younger age group.

I also hope to introduce the initiative to the Scouts and Girlguiding networks to show the value of our countryside and a bird most children would be unaware of.

If you would like more information about how your children’s school can apply for their free sponsorship pack, please contact me at jswyer@gwct.org.uk or call 01425 651021. If you are a teacher, teaching assistant or run an after school club, Scouts or Girl Guides group, please get in touch and I would be happy to send you a sponsorship pack.

Please help us continue our woodcock research