Woodcock – 21st September 2009
One of the most secretive birds to be found in the Highlands at this time of the year is the woodcock which is surprising considering it one of the larger waders and has a very long beak. The reason it is so difficult to see is partly because of the outstanding camouflage of its plumage and partly its daily cycle of feeding and resting. The plumage is brown and black with much barring across the feathers and when the bird is sat on a woodland floor it is almost impossible to see unless it is disturbed. The birds feed at night and will flight to and from the feeding areas at dusk and at first light. During the day they will lie up in woodland containing either broadleaved trees or conifers particularly where there are glades and open rides. The long and sensitive beak is ideal for probing for food such as worms so damp areas are sought out by the birds where it is easy to probe the soil.
The winter is the best time to see woodcock as although some of the breeding birds in the Highlands fly to Ireland for the winter those that remain are boosted by winter visitors. It is estimated that 800,000 woodcock visit Britain each winter from Russia, Latvia and Finland and a proportion of these come to the Highlands including woodland around Inverness. One myth about these migrants is that they are guided over the North Sea by goldcrests which migrate to us at the same time and so much so that these much smaller birds were known as “ Woodcock Pilots”. The photograph shows an area of woodland close to Inverness where the woodcock spend the day in the dry areas under the birch trees or under the dead bracken in the foreground. Fifty yards away is a wet area on the edge of the trees where the woodcock fly to feed at night although many have been recorded simply walking between the day roosting area and the wet feeding site.
One of the biggest controversies in the bird world is whether woodcock, in the breeding season, carry their young when in flight. Many people who have seen woodcock all their lives refuse to believe the birds deliberately carry their young because they have not seen it happen. In contrast many people have actually seen the event and the general consensus of opinion is that the young are clasped between the adult birds long legs. There are records of the adult moving a chick in this way and then coming back for the other chicks. This is normally where the birds is suddenly disturbed such as by a dog and the young are carried to safety.
The woodcock is on the quarry list and is reputed by sportsmen to be the final accolade in shooting because their twisting flight makes them a very difficult target. Their tiny outer wing feathers that are only about an inch long and called “pin” feathers are much prized and at one time were collected to use by artists when they wanted the finest of brush strokes when painting. Unfortunately in the last decade or so woodcock have decreased as far as breeding birds are concerned. In some parts of Britain this has been put down to habitat change but in areas where there appear to be no significant changes such as the Highlands and in Ireland the decline is still present. The Scots name for the bird is either cock or great snipe whilst one of the three Gaelic names is Cioleach-coille meaning Cockerel of the Wood