BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Woodcock

WOODCOCK
Scolopax rusticola

• Population
changes

• Productivity
trends

• Additional
information

Conservation listings

Europe: SPEC category 3 (declining)
UK: amber (>50% population decline, but data possibly unrepresentative)

Long-term trend

UK: rapid decline

UK population size

5,400–13,700 pairs in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC trend: BiE04, APEP06)

Status summary

The Woodcock has declined rapidly and significantly on CBC plots. Because CBC did not include many coniferous forests and was concentrated in lowland Britain, however, it is not certain how well this trend represents the whole population and, provisionally, the results warrant only an amber listing. Range contractions, that may have the same cause as the decline in abundance, were recorded concurrently with part of the CBC decline (Gibbons et al. 1993). Recreational disturbance, the drying out of natural woodlands, overgrazing by deer, and the maturation of new plantations are possible causes of the Woodcock's decline, but there is no strong hypothesis as yet (Fuller et al. 2005). BBS is inefficient at recording this species, and cannot continue the index series. The first special survey aimed at monitoring the UK's breeding Woodcock took place in 2003 and has provided a sound baseline for future monitoring (Fuller & Hoodless 2004; for more information, click here).

Population changes

Productivity trends

Productivity information is not currently available for this species

Additional information


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. and Thewlis, R.M. (2006) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2005. BTO Research Report No. 435. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 19 May, 2006