Woodcock (1 Viewer)

[Collster]

We don't get breeding woodcock around this way , but usually this time of year its hard to walk about the local forest without putting one up. However , this year they are very thin on the ground around here. Whats the situation in other parts of the country?

 

[MKinHK]

One showed well to a colleague at the botanic garden where I work at dusk yesterday evening, but I don't think you mean Hong Kong!

 

[matt green]

So far I have only seen about three.(south norfolk)

The last was very close,if I was looking in the right place I would have had an excellent close view of one ''on the decks''

They just seem to sprout out of the ground from nowhere.

Matt

 

[J Moss]

Whats the usual habitat for Woodcocks? Is it just any old decent forested area? Its just I've never seen one, and I spent a week trawling through New forest and IOW woodlands at the crack of dawn. Albeit, I wasn't looking for them, but still didn's spook any. Is it just a luck thing?

Chars

J

 

[Collster]

So far I have only seen about three.(south norfolk)

The last was very close,if I was looking in the right place I would have had an excellent close view of one ''on the decks''

They just seem to sprout out of the ground from nowhere.

Matt

Thats the trouble with them, rarely see them on the ground

 

[pandachris]

I've only twice definitely seen them away from 'known' spots - although I've seen a few from moving cars that might have been woodcock. Cannock Chase can be pretty reliable at certain times of year. In June 2005 we used to sit outside the Sonachan Hotel in Ardnamurchan (the most westerly hotel in mainland UK) and one would come over and fly around for 10 minutes, giving excellent views. Bit of a long way from Hampshire (and not that relevant to the thread) but a wonderful area to visit.

 

[Collster]

Whats the usual habitat for Woodcocks? Is it just any old decent forested area? Its just I've never seen one, and I spent a week trawling through New forest and IOW woodlands at the crack of dawn. Albeit, I wasn't looking for them, but still didn's spook any. Is it just a luck thing?

Chars

J

The usual places where i see them are on the edges of the woods, along rides etc. Also get them on open rough ground, old farmland. It is just a luck thing i think, but you can increase your chances no end if you've got a dog that likes to skulk about with you. As i said most years there are loads about down this way and they are easy to see, not this year though

 

[Collster]

One showed well to a colleague at the botanic garden where I work at dusk yesterday evening, but I don't think you mean Hong Kong!

Bit out of my way

 

[Atricapilla]

We don't get breeding woodcock around this way , but usually this time of year its hard to walk about the local forest without putting one up. However , this year they are very thin on the ground around here. Whats the situation in other parts of the country?

My brother has just seen the 3rd one in 10 years on their reserve near Welshpool.
A great name though don't you think!!!!

 

[matt green]

Whats the usual habitat for Woodcocks? Is it just any old decent forested area? Its just I've never seen one, and I spent a week trawling through New forest and IOW woodlands at the crack of dawn. Albeit, I wasn't looking for them, but still didn's spook any. Is it just a luck thing?

Chars

J

Most of my winter woodcock have been seen on rough grassland,scrub type habitat,nowhere near any large woods!

Basically,if you can find a spot that looks good for owls and scrub/heathland type farmland birds,chances are it's also good for woodcock.

Best advice I can give is find somewhere overlooking a wide expanse of suitable grassy scrub with a clear unobstructed view against the horizan,then wait for them on a clear night at dusk.They can be surprisingly sneaky to correctly identify,a rear view of one can often look very much like a teal!

Best of luck

Matt

 

[J Moss]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Capercaillie71]

Whats the situation in other parts of the country?

Last month I took part in the annual capercaillie count at Glen Tanar NNR, which basically takes the form of a driven grouse shoot, but in woodland, and with beaters driving the birds to a line of counters instead of guns. There were stacks of woodcock there then, easily the commonest bird flushed. In fact one woodcock shot out of the trees in front of some of the counters pursued by a goshawk (I know you're not too keen on them VB, but they're fairly scarce up here). The woodcock escaped.

As regards woodcock habitat, around here woodland is the main habitat, although I have flushed them from the banks of moorland burns. and seen them roding over moorland near the woodland edge. Breeding habitat can be any type of woodland (conifer plantation, birch wood, native pinewood), but open birchwood seems to hold the highest densities.

 

[Mike Feely]

Hi Valley Boy

I hadn't seen one for over three years untill November this year.

I flushed three in two visits to the same pit top site in north Notts (a bit out of your way, but you might have similar habitats).

This is an old disused pit top site that now has young birch woodland on its south facing slope with a good understory of gorse in places. As Matt says above, the surrounding area is basically rough grassland and often attracts SEOs (none this year yet though unfortunately). The Woodcock were all in similar well covered parts and they flew when i got within about 10 feet - all flying away from me, but all unmistakeable. Only on the last occasion was i hoping to see one - the first two times they completely took me by surprise.

Having been at uni in Cardiff, i would imagine that there are several similar sites around the valleys - have any disused pit sites been transformed into nature reserves? (The one i go to - Annesley - is not yet an official reserve, but i beleive there are discussions afoot with the owner to make this the case), several other pit top sites in notts/derbys are now protected for nature. Annesley suffers from kids on crossers and dog walking disturbance, but that does not seem to affect the species diversity (my site list is now 104 in only a year and a bit!).

Mike

edit: ps, all of the above 3 sightings were in broad daylight, mid morning.

 

[martin bevan]

Last month I took part in the annual capercaillie count at Glen Tanar NNR, which basically takes the form of a driven grouse shoot, but in woodland, and with beaters driving the birds to a line of counters instead of guns. There were stacks of woodcock there then, easily the commonest bird flushed. In fact one woodcock shot out of the trees in front of some of the counters pursued by a goshawk (I know you're not too keen on them VB, but they're fairly scarce up here). The woodcock escaped.

As regards woodcock habitat, around here woodland is the main habitat, although I have flushed them from the banks of moorland burns. and seen them roding over moorland near the woodland edge. Breeding habitat can be any type of woodland (conifer plantation, birch wood, native pinewood), but open birchwood seems to hold the highest densities.

hello valley boy. in mountain ash they same to be present this winters. i go to the forest edge at dusk and wait for them to leave the forest and they fly staight over most nights.the most i have seen so far as been four. but in hard frost there are a lot more birds about. best site in my area is lanwonno by the pub. as they fly staight over car park and you can get double figures and it a great nice pint.

 

[Collster]

Most of my winter woodcock have been seen on rough grassland,scrub type habitat,nowhere near any large woods!

Basically,if you can find a spot that looks good for owls and scrub/heathland type farmland birds,chances are it's also good for woodcock.

Best advice I can give is find somewhere overlooking a wide expanse of suitable grassy scrub with a clear unobstructed view against the horizan,then wait for them on a clear night at dusk.They can be surprisingly sneaky to correctly identify,a rear view of one can often look very much like a teal!

Best of luck

Matt

Hi Matt, the fringes of forests certainly seem the easiest places to flush them down this way , they like the cover. Last year during a particularly cold spell one of my neighbours had twelve of them feeding on the local rugby pitch early one morning. As it got lighter they all took off into the woods

 

[Collster]

hello valley boy. in mountain ash they same to be present this winters. i go to the forest edge at dusk and wait for them to leave the forest and they fly staight over most nights.the most i have seen so far as been four. but in hard frost there are a lot more birds about. best site in my area is lanwonno by the pub. as they fly staight over car park and you can get double figures and it a great nice pint.

Hi Martin, i know that area very well, usually look for nightjars there, as its the best place in Glamorgan for them, are you talking about the Brynfynnon?

 

[Collster]

Last month I took part in the annual capercaillie count at Glen Tanar NNR, which basically takes the form of a driven grouse shoot, but in woodland, and with beaters driving the birds to a line of counters instead of guns. There were stacks of woodcock there then, easily the commonest bird flushed. In fact one woodcock shot out of the trees in front of some of the counters pursued by a goshawk (I know you're not too keen on them VB, but they're fairly scarce up here). The woodcock escaped.

As regards woodcock habitat, around here woodland is the main habitat, although I have flushed them from the banks of moorland burns. and seen them roding over moorland near the woodland edge. Breeding habitat can be any type of woodland (conifer plantation, birch wood, native pinewood), but open birchwood seems to hold the highest densities.

Glad theres oplenty about there, its not that i dont like Goshawk, just the fact that they kill anything. They might be scarce there now but they expanded rapidly down this way in a very short time

 

[Collster]

Hi Valley Boy

I hadn't seen one for over three years untill November this year.

I flushed three in two visits to the same pit top site in north Notts (a bit out of your way, but you might have similar habitats).

This is an old disused pit top site that now has young birch woodland on its south facing slope with a good understory of gorse in places. As Matt says above, the surrounding area is basically rough grassland and often attracts SEOs (none this year yet though unfortunately). The Woodcock were all in similar well covered parts and they flew when i got within about 10 feet - all flying away from me, but all unmistakeable. Only on the last occasion was i hoping to see one - the first two times they completely took me by surprise.

Having been at uni in Cardiff, i would imagine that there are several similar sites around the valleys - have any disused pit sites been transformed into nature reserves? (The one i go to - Annesley - is not yet an official reserve, but i beleive there are discussions afoot with the owner to make this the case), several other pit top sites in notts/derbys are now protected for nature. Annesley suffers from kids on crossers and dog walking disturbance, but that does not seem to affect the species diversity (my site list is now 104 in only a year and a bit!).

Mike

edit: ps, all of the above 3 sightings were in broad daylight, mid morning.

Plenty of old pit sites down this way

 

[Collster]

My brother has just seen the 3rd one in 10 years on their reserve near Welshpool.
A great name though don't you think!!!!

Yeah it is

 

[Farnboro John]

Around Hants/Berks/Surrey border area Woodcock mostly seem to lurk in damp bottom woodlands in winter. They seem to rode more or less year-round so dusk along a canal or woodland ride is a good bet if you don't fancy thrashing through marshy birch and alders.

I have a photo from long ago of one on Mull sitting on a telephone wire, rather a change from their usual skulking. Has anyone else found them sitting prominently?

John