2022

The question of how many woodcock might spend their winters in the UK may seem straightforward but is actually extremely difficult to answer. The fundamental reason is the secrecy of these birds, so that simple counting of those we may see in winter is not an accurate reflection of the number that might be present, camouflaged in the woods and active at night.

The EWWF Wildfire 2022 Conference in Belfast which I attended last week provided a similar belief that through constructive stakeholder engagement progress can be made.  But there is an added dimension in respect of wildfire – and that is the right time.  And that is now.

The first part in a series of blogs by Jodie Case. After winning the Outstanding Achievement Award this year, as voted for by her peers, Jodie takes us back through her year with the GWCT.

Meet the farmers of the Chalke Valley, Wiltshire to find out what they are doing to conserve their rare and precious chalk stream. Andrew, Ben and Matthew are members of the Chalke Valley Farmer Cluster and also the pioneering Environmental Farmers Group (EFG), supported by the GWCT.

One of the most important things to understand about woodcock in the UK is that there are two distinct groups which behave in different ways and are experiencing different fates - resident and migratory.

As our recent blogs have suggested there is a role for rewilding within our landscape – in some areas this could include a withdrawal from commercial farming activities – and, given we are largely a society of private landownership, we respect everyone’s right to manage their land as they wish.

The lucky winner will receive a pair of bespoke William Powell Sovereign shotguns worth over £14,000, a day's driven shooting and much more.

Today is the International Day of LGBTQ+ People in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). 

In August this year GWCT chief executive Teresa Dent wrote a letter to Greenpeace’s Interim Executive Director in response to its petition calling for a complete ban on controlled burning in the uplands. We received a reply outlining Greenpeace’s position, which despite our presentation of evidence to the contrary, reiterates the viewpoint that the “weight of scientific evidence shows heather burning, in particular, is damaging to English peatlands,” and, significantly, omits to mention the important role controlled burns can play in wildfire mitigation.

Woodcock are found in woodland habitats right across northern Europe and Asia, ranging from Britain in the West to Japan in the East.