Woodcock research in South Yorkshire

Woodcock. Credit Forestry Commission

Elusive bird in the spotlight

April 2009. Experts in South Yorkshire are bidding to shed new light on the secret world of the woodcock. The woodcock is a nocturnal bird which nests on the ground and has superb camouflage has been under threat in recent years due to a loss of habitat.

But at Wharncliffe Woods, between Sheffield and Barnsley, it has established a stronghold, helped by a Forestry Commission project to broaden wildlife havens in the 480-hectare (1,200-acre) beauty spot. Now forest chiefs have joined forces with the Sorby Breck Ringing Group to catch and ring the bird for the first time in the wood in a bid to keep tabs on its welfare.

Dave Jones, Forestry Commission Wildlife Ranger, explained: "Because it is active at night it's a really tough bird to study and consequently we know surprisingly little about the species. However, Wharncliffe Woods is one of the best sites in the region for the bird, so it's a good place to start filling gaps in our knowledge."

Woodcock
The woodcock is a bulky wading bird with short legs and a long straight bill. To track it down experts will use a powerful spotlight that picks out the glint in its eyes as it feeds on the floor, temporarily dazzling it. A harmless landing net will then be used to capture the bird and fit a ring carrying key details such as date and location.

Ringing
Dave Jones adds: "Specimens will be weighed, sexed and a note made of their condition. If the same bird is caught again it will allow ringers to compare notes."

There are up to 13,700 breeding pairs of woodcock in the UK. At Wharncliffe a blueprint is being implemented which will see more open spaces created, boosting the bird's preferred habitat. Data collected from the study will be fed into the British Trust for Ornithology's National Database, which contains 35 million bird records. The BTO is celebrating the 100th anniversary of ringing in Britain this year.