Right time for woodcock

I often see woodcock from late October, so why has the GWCT suggested that we should not shoot them before 1 December?

Most of the woodcock that we see in winter are migrants from the north and east. Their population is stable, they are the commonest wader in Britain in winter and there is no indication that they are being overshot. However, early season birds are quite likely to be home-bred, and it is clear that the birds that breed with us are declining both in number and range. Even so, there is no evidence that shooting is having any harmful effect.

As a precaution GWCT suggests waiting till December, a time when most of the winter migrants have arrived, before shooting woodcock. This way, we can be sure that we are not shooting a higher proportion of our home-bred birds than we do migrants, and that we are taking a sustainable harvest. MS