Watch the birdie – and the figures

I WAS delighted to see such positive coverage of our innovative woodcock research in Scotland on Sunday (“Woodcock satnav on Speedy’s tail” News, 25 March).
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Apr 2012, 01:00 BST

However, there is a slight inaccuracy in the text. Emma Cowing wrote: “The woodcock population has been decimated in recent years, with a reported 86 per cent slump in numbers between 1970 and 2007.”

Before our work began in 2003, the national breeding population was thought to be between 5,000 and 12,500 pairs. In our last survey our estimate was 78,000 pairs. So some of the national figures, although the best available, may need to be viewed with some caution and can be misleading.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If the figures gathered from our second National Breeding Woodcock Survey in 2013 reveal numbers have stabilised or have increased over the last 10 years then perhaps we can be less concerned for woodcocks. If there is a decline then we need to think again.

Katrina J Candy, head of PR & Education, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Scone