Woodcock

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Woodcock, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.

UK Birds of Conservation Concern	Red listed
Species of European Conservation Concern	Least Concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (global)	Least Concern
Schedule 1 license required (to disturb)	No
Birds Directive Annex 1	No
Listed on the Annexes of	WCA(II,III), WBD(II* & III*), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

The Woodcock declined rapidly and significantly on CBC plots for the three decades up to 2000. Because CBC did not include many coniferous forests and its plots were concentrated in lowland Britain, however, it is not certain how clearly this trend represented the whole UK population at that time. Range contractions, that might have had the same cause as the decline in abundance, were recorded concurrently with part of the CBC decline (Gibbons et al. 1993). BBS is inefficient at recording this scarce, mainly crepuscular species, and cannot continue the index series.

The first special survey aimed at monitoring the UK's breeding Woodcock took place in 2003 and provided a new baseline population estimate for monitoring that was much higher than previously thought (Hoodless et al. 2009). It is important to note, though, that the upward revision of the population estimate is due to new methodology and carries no information about population trends. A repeat survey of breeding Woodcocks conducted by BTO volunteers in spring 2013 found a decline of 29% since 2003 (Heward et al. 2015), which is line with the loss of occupied 10-km squares, also 29%, between 1988-91 and 2008-11 (Balmer et al. 2013).

Through the decline in its UK breeding range, the species moved from amber to being red listed in the latest review (Eaton et al. 2015). The CBC decline had been discounted in 2009 as a reason for the species' amber listing (BoCC3), which rested on the breeding declines recorded across Europe, especially European Russia (BiE04). Annual numbers shot in the UK, which include winter visitors from some declining populations in Europe (generally considered stable), had increased around threefold since 1945 and were running at a historically high level in the early 2000s; however data since 2006 are not shown on the gamebag trend graph.

Breeding Woodcocks are absent from many of the Scottish islands, much of central and southwest England and large swathes of Wales, western Ireland and the Channel Islands. In autumn there is a large influx of Woodcocks from the Continent, leading to a much wider winter distribution throughout Britain and much of Ireland.

Woodcock breeding range has contracted markedly and now stands at less than half its 1960s extent, supporting other evidence of a gradual population decline.

Woodcocks are recorded most often in winter and during spring roding season; records decrease in late summer and early autumn when birds are moulting and less likely to be flushed.

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report

Maximum Age from Ringing	15 years 5 months 12 days (set in 1937)
Typical Lifespan	4 years with breeding typically at 2 year
Adult Survival	0.61
Juvenile Survival	0.36 (in first year)

Wing Length	Adults	200.4±6.4 | Range 190–210mm, N=194
	Juveniles	199.7±5.9 | Range 191-210mm, N=113
	Males	203.9±5.1 | Range 195–211mm, N=28

Body Weight	Adults	305±45.3 | Range 220–377g, N=145
	Juveniles	303±31.1 | Range 258–345g, N=84
	Males	291±59.8 | Range 170–360g, N=20

Feather measurements and photos on featherbase

Ring size	D or E (pulli E)
Field Codes	2-letter: WK | 5-letter code: WOODC | Euring: 5290

For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name

Causes of change

Various possible causes of the Woodcock's decline have been suggested, but there is no strong hypothesis as yet.

Further information on causes of change

Recreational disturbance, the drying out of natural woodlands, overgrazing by deer, declining woodland management, and the maturation of new plantations are possible causes of the Woodcock's decline, but there is no strong hypothesis as yet (Fuller et al. 2005). Woodcock are more likely to be found in larger woods and those further from urban areas with a mix of habitat types, with birch woods preferred and beech less favoured (Heward et al. 2018).

Information about conservation actions

The causes of the decline in Woodcock are uncertain, but a reduction in the intensity of management of woodlands and overgrazing by deer could both have contributed (Fuller et al. 2005; Hoodless & Hirons 2007); hence actions to control deer and increase the scrub and field layers may benefit this species.

Recent research suggests that the rate of decline is lower in large continuous woodlands (Heward et al. 2015) and that Woodcock are more likely to be found in larger woods further from urban areas (Heward et al. 2018). Therefore, a landscape scale approach which preserves larger woodlands and protects them from fragmentation may also be important. The same research suggests that birch woodlands are preferred and beech is less favoured (Heward et al. 2018).