Towards an understanding of the origins and ecology of Woodcock wintering in Britain and Ireland.

Abstract

There is still much to be learnt on the migration and winter ecology of the Eurasian woodcock Scolopax rusticola and here I outline the aims of my D.Phil. study and some preliminary results from the first field season. My study has two main aims: (1) to better determine the origins of migrant woodcock wintering in Britain and Ireland and (2) to compare the behaviour and habitat use of residents and migrants using the same wintering site.