Results from the 2013 Woodcock Survey show that breeding numbers and breeding range have both declined considerably since the previous survey in 2003. The rate of decline varied regionally but was least pronounced in areas that contained large tracts of continuous woodland. The latest Woodcock Survey, undertaken in 2013 by BTO and GWCT, has provided an updated breeding population estimate and an assessment of breeding range change, since the first survey in 2003. In addition, recent trends in breeding numbers were measured using annual counts data since 2003. The Woodcock is currently ‘amber-listed’ as a species of conservation concern, resulting from recent moderate declines within Europe and Russia. However, the actual scale of these changes is uncertain owing to a lack of accurate data due to the nocturnal habits and cryptic behaviour of the bird. A bespoke survey methodology is required to assess numbers accurately, using the number of ‘roding’ flight passes to estimate the number of individuals. Roding happens at dawn and dusk, when male Woodcock fly large circuits and call to advertise their presence to receptive females. . In 2013 counts were undertaken during May–June at 834 randomly selected British sites. The breeding population was estimated at 55,241 males (95% CL: 41,806–69,004), representing a 29% decline since 2003. The percentage of wooded survey squares occupied by Woodcock decreased from 47% in 2003 to 37% in 2013. Annual counts from occupied sites monitored between 2003 and 2013 also indicate a decrease in abundance of 40% during the 10 year period. Breeding distribution data from BirdAtlas 2007–11 indicates that range extent in Britain contracted by 31% since 1988–91 and 56% since 1968–72. The decline in range and breeding numbers is considerable and most severe in the south and west of Britain. The greatest decreases have occurred in locations containing small tracts of fragmented woodland, while regions with large areas of continuous woodland have experienced the least change. Further research is required to fully understand the reasons for the Woodcock decline, which may be associated with changes in woodland structure, perhaps though management practices or rising deer numbers. Little is currently known about breeding productivity, over-winter survival and the potential impact of hunting. Please consider surveying a local site and contribute to the annual survey, which is essential for monitoring further changes to this charismatic and declining species.

New research using data from Garden BirdWatch has revealed that bird food provided in British gardens has helped Blackcaps to rapidly evolve a successful new migration route. This is the first time that garden bird feeding has been shown to affect large-scale bird distributions. The research uses data from volunteer Garden BirdWatchers. Contemporary evolution of migratory behaviour in the Blackcap Since the 1950s, Blackcaps breeding in southern Germany and Austria have increasingly migrated in a north-westerly direction, heading towards Britain for the winter rather than taking the traditional south-westerly route to wintering grounds in southern Spain. Research has revealed that this new migration strategy is genetically encoded and is maintained through reproductive isolation and fitness benefits on the breeding grounds. The result has been a rapid increase in the number of Blackcaps wintering in Britain over the past 60 years, such that the species is now a familiar visitor to garden feeding stations across the country. Have conditions in Britain helped to drive this evolutionary change? Early observations of wintering Blackcaps in British gardens coincided with the wider introduction of commercial wild bird foods, so it is conceivable garden bird feeding introduced a selection pressure for the evolution of the new migration strategy. However, it is unlikely that this will have been the only factor driving the change. Winter conditions in Britain have become milder and this may have led to improved overwinter survival rates for the Blackcaps choosing to winter here. But which is the more important? Unravelling the underlying mechanisms driving the evolution of this change in migration route requires long-term monitoring data, collected at a landscape scale. Fortunately, BTO's weekly Garden BirdWatch survey provides data of just the right form and scale to explore the spatial distribution and between year variation in Blackcap wintering behaviour, additionally allowing examination of both of these components in relation to the availability of supplementary food and local climate. If the provision of supplementary food has influenced Blackcap migration, we might predict that Blackcaps would be observed more frequently where there is a reliable source of garden bird food and that there may be evidence of an increased association with food over time. If climate has limited the Blackcap’s winter range, we might predict that Blackcaps would be observed more often at sites where the winter climate is warmer. How were the data analysed? Kate Plummer and colleagues extracted data for Blackcap presence and absence per site for 12 winters (1999/2000 to 2010/2011), capturing the period when these central European birds are most strongly associated with garden habitats. The final data set included 3,806 Garden BirdWatch sites and was based on those sites from which at least 16 weekly submissions in a minimum of nine winters had been received. Garden BirdWatch participants record the food provided at their sites each week, but not which species were feed on which foods. To capture this information, and use it to inform which foods to include in the analyses, a questionnaire survey was circulated across participants who had recently had Blackcaps using their gardens. This revealed that fats and sunflower hearts were the preferred foods for visiting Blackcaps. The analyses also included a measure of local habitat, derived from the CEH Land Cover Map and used to test for any potential ‘heat island effect’ – urban areas are warmer than rural areas because of the waste heat escaping from buildings and shops. Also included were mean monthly temperature data extracted from the Met Office UK Climate Projections dataset, latitude/longitude and year. Generalized linear mixed models were then used to examine the predictors of variation in Blackcap wintering behaviour. The patterns revealed Blackcaps showed greater occupancy of sites in the south and west of Britain, where wintering conditions are milder. The authors found strong evidence that Blackcap occupancy rates are influenced by both supplementary food and climatic temperature; Blackcaps were recorded more often at sites that provisioned food more frequently and, most interestingly, Blackcap occurrence has become more strongly associated with supplementary feeding over time. The birds showed a preference for wintering sites that had a warmer local climate, with the use of GBW sites reduced in those years when the winter weather was milder. What does this all mean? This work provides the first direct evidence of the underlying mechanisms that have influenced the contemporary evolution of migratory behaviour in Blackcap. Over a 12-year period, Blackcaps have become increasingly associated with the provision of supplementary foods in British gardens and the reliability of that provisioning is influencing their distribution at the national scale. The findings suggest that climate amelioration is also likely to have enabled Blackcaps to expand their wintering range into Britain. The increasing association with supplementary food over time suggests that Blackcaps are adapting their feeding habits to exploit human-provisioned foods, complementing recent evidence that those Blackcaps migrating to Britain in winter are diverging phenotypically, as well as genetically, from those that winter in Spain. Blackcaps wintering in Britain have relatively narrower and longer beaks than those wintering in Spain, suggesting that British migrants have adapted to a more generalist diet. The study provides new and timely evidence of the role that human activities can play in shaping the evolutionary trajectories of wild bird populations.