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Perhaps the real truth is to ban the sale of woodcock. Rumours abound of game dealers paying £10 per bird. Small wonder that these birds are shot at night by lamp and .22.

This needs to be stamped out first and foremost. Secondly if you ain't eating it you ain't shootin it!

Edited by Foolofatook
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Solo stalking at the weekend I saw 20+ woodcock flushed, some at a fair distance.(no dog) the whole wood floor was spotted with woodcock poo just showing how many and how busy they are at night. Finished off the day with a walk round with shotgun, put another three up, had one shot and missed🙄 swung the gun on tawny owl that exploded from head high holly but checked myself in good time.

Came home empty handed but happy.

I always like to see them, such an enigmatic bird, stunning in the hand and on the plate.

Im happy to limit myself to 1 per season.

From what I have seen I think numbers are very healthy and have no compunction in taking one for the table.

Agree that £10/bird is not good for conservation tho.

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On 18/01/2019 at 23:46, Foolofatook said:

Perhaps the real truth is to ban the sale of woodcock. Rumours abound of game dealers paying £10 per bird. Small wonder that these birds are shot at night by lamp and .22.

This needs to be stamped out first and foremost. Secondly if you ain't eating it you ain't shootin it!

i agree with a ban on the sale of woodcock:good:

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Well, I have shot 20 odd driven days this season and still two to go and I have seen fewer woodcock than I have ever seen. One appeared and was shot at Catton last week and saw a couple up in Lincolnshire.  I normally would harvest a few because I enjoy eating them but this season I would not have shot if one came within range.  If you shoot it you should eat it and that goes for all game meat.  I had  my brace of pheasants from Catton but was invited to take whatever I wanted. I purchased 20 packs of their 4 oven ready partridge last October and have a good supply in the freezer. Breasted one of the birds last night and sliced them in 1/2 inch strips, seasoned and fried in butter in the skillet till they went brown on the outside ...awesome.  Hopefully will have a couple more brace to add from this weeks days and then it's all over.  Smoked pigeon breasts for a month or two hopefully.

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Nice to hear they are about in numbers and it is perculiar how they favour a particular area.  Used to shoot them over pointers on the Welsh hillsides around Builth Wells and down toward Crickhowell and the advise from the Game Keeper was to concentrate on the 6 to 800 ft zone and that is always where we found the majority.  They are an enigmatic bird for sure.

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Does anyone know if the native birds also migrate to other parts of the UK and is it the case that the woodcock i see in the western isles are migrants, reading the book Woodcock field craft and quarry by Professor Colin Trotman,  he suggests that [if i remember correctly] the N and west Scotland Woodcock originate in Scandinavia/Norway................ Also does anyone know the preferred habitat for nesting    ?

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Last day today out in Lincolnshire, cocks only, with a few ducks and any other legal winged species.  We saw the most woodcock I have seen this season and a number were shot and I was lucky enough to have two brace to bring home.  I didn't actually shoot them, but the numbers seen made harvesting three or four brace legit.  Had a great but very cold day with 68 head for eight guns.

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1 hour ago, norfolk dumpling said:

A bunch of local lads were pushing out a 70 acre wet wood on 1st Feb and walking my dogs past the start of their efforts at least a dozen 'cock flew past me in a matter of just a few minutes. I'm seeing a few at dusk too - more than I've seen for some years. Is there a recovery happening?

Im wondering that given the harder weather the west has been having lately,  compared to the east, if the woodcock aren't just moving onto ground that isn't frozen

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No doubt the weather does have a big influence but it does seem that woodcock are appearing at least a month later than normal.  Forty years ago I would have expected to see a lot of woodcock in the first week of November, in fact used to arrange days with the viszlas on the Welsh hillsides specifically from that time onwards and also trips north of the Border.

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11 minutes ago, Stephen-H said:

We had a skirmish day on the 1st of Feb for the end of the season we all agreed not to shoot the woodcock one drive produced 16 woodcock it was brillant to see them in such good numbers they hadn't really made a appearance on are shoot till early December time.

woodcock are out of season on the 1st feb:hmm:

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19 minutes ago, Stephen-H said:

We had a skirmish day on the 1st of Feb for the end of the season we all agreed not to shoot the woodcock one drive produced 16 woodcock it was brillant to see them in such good numbers they hadn't really made a appearance on are shoot till early December time.

Ignorance is bliss.

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31 minutes ago, Stephen-H said:

We had a skirmish day on the 1st of Feb for the end of the season we all agreed not to shoot the woodcock one drive produced 16 woodcock it was brillant to see them in such good numbers they hadn't really made a appearance on are shoot till early December time.

Just as well you decided not to shoot them.

Games ok on the 1st but woodcock cease inland the same as fowl.

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Just now, Stephen-H said:

Yes sorry chaps got my dates missed up none were shot as said nice to see them in good numbers 

Funny how the big numbers were seen at the end and up here if we get a hard spell the numbers increase quite a bit.

Fine to see numbers still steady as many think they are way down.Can say this year would have been a wee bit above average for us and in the last 50-20 years there seems to be little difference.

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