Anja Murray: Shy — and red-listed — woodcock still on legal hunting list

In 2023, the Government reviewed which birds can legally hunted in Ireland and when. The review resulted in four species of duck being removed from the quarry list — birds that can be shot during open season. Many expected that woodcock would also be removed from this list because of its red-listed conservation status, but not so

Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola): Since the 1970s, woodcock have been declining in Ireland. Their range has contracted by more than 70% in this time period, earning them a place on the ‘red list’ of birds of conservation concern in Ireland — the highest ranking of concern

It’s that time of year when I’ve yet to acclimatise to birdsong in the early mornings. Being woken at 4.30am by energetic blackbirds is a welcome reminder that, after a long spell of grey drizzly days, spring is decidedly upon us. The enthusiasm of chaffinch, robin and wren who make up the common choristers of dawn will be gaining momentum in the coming weeks.

But one bird that is decidedly not one of the songbirds that make up the soundtrack of early spring mornings is the woodcock. These woodland waders won’t be heard singing from the hedges. These are one of our most cryptic native birds, hiding away by day in the tangle of the woodland floor, becoming active during the hours of darkness, from dusk to dawn. This is why we rarely see or hear them.