The latest survey of the UK’s resident woodcock population saw the highest ever participation rate since the count began 20 years ago.
Run by the Game & and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Breeding Woodcock Survey aims to gather up-to-date evidence on the size and distribution of this elusive Red-Listed, woodland-dwelling wader, which helps to inform woodcock conservation.
The survey looks at birds that are present all year round and breed in the UK. It was first carried out in 2003, repeated in 2013 and again this year.
In total, 1,230 randomly selected sites in the UK were surveyed, compared to a total of around 820 in 2003 and 2013.
This year was also the first real survey of woodcock breeding in Northern Ireland, where previously the number of sites – just three – has been too small to produce an accurate estimate of the population. This time around, 38 sites were surveyed with funding from BASC.
The final results of the 2023 survey are expected by spring 2024, but there are concerns the population is continuing to decline.
Posted On: 03/01/2024
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