By the spring equinox, the vast majority of the wintering woodcock population in Pembs are usually well on their way back to their breeding grounds in northern and eastern Europe, and Russia. They're a bit late leaving this year due to the cold weather in March, and on 19th, counts of birds in six pasture fields were very similar to typical mid-winter counts (30 compared to counts of 34 and 26 in the same fields during December and February). They are often much more difficult to approach in Feb and March than they are earlier in the winter, and only five of the 30 birds were caught, three of which had been ringed earlier in the winter suggesting that many individuals chose to sit out the bad weather. One bird, at 270g was 55g lighter than average, so had clearly struggled to feed, but three others weighed, 351g, 360g and 361g, and were ready for off.
The counts made during ringing sessions gave an average density of 0.53 birds per hectare, identical to the long-term average. Of the 122 individuals handled, the ratio of ad to 1stW was 41:81, a much higher proportion of 1stW than the long term average of (5:6).
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| Almost all woodcock caught have muddy bills right to the feathering, though it is very rare to see one feeding, and on nights when it isn't raining the mud dries off by a couple of hours after dark, suggesting that they only feed for a brief period at dusk. |
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