December

Take a closer look at our reserach on habitat for breeding woodcock, national survey findings for woodcock habitat and roding counts.

During prolonged periods of freezing weather, waterfowl and waders are less able to access food resources and, as such, become more reliant on their fat reserves. 

The GWCT has been carrying out woodcock research since the 1970s, with a programme of studies that has only intensified as it has progressed through the decades, each building on those that have gone before so that a more detailed picture has developed. 

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.