Advice on woodcock shooting this winter.

Capercaillie

https://www.gwct.org.uk/news/news/2017/december/new-advice-on-woodcock-shooting-from-gwct-expert/

Andrew Hoodless, who is Head of Wetland Research at the Trust, has issued the call for restraint due to indications that our migrant woodcock have experienced a poor breeding season this year.

Walter Mittys Brother

That's a "UK" article. This isn't UK

How independent is this research?

Capercaillie

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

That's a "UK" article. This isn't UK

How independent is this research?

Russian birds winter in UK and Ireland, so article is relevant.

GWCT is a shooting organisation, so their data/research would not be biased against shooting.

Walter Mittys Brother

Capercaillie wrote: »

Russian birds winter in UK and Ireland,

I know.

Capercaillie wrote: »

so article is relevant.

Possibly

Capercaillie wrote: »

GWCT is a shooting organisation, so their data/research would not be biased against shooting.

Not independent so.

Stopping tourist shooting of them here, stopping commercial sale to game dealers & shooters being conservative in numbers they shoot, which most usually are, should be enough in the short term.

Birdnuts

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

Stopping tourist shooting of them here, stopping commercial sale to game dealers & shooters being conservative in numbers they shoot, which most usually are, should be enough in the short term.

This needs to be looked at all right - did some duck shooting in the Hollymount area of Mayo on a M8's permission last few years and came across French shooters hitting woodcock hard on a nearby wetland several times.

Walter Mittys Brother

Birdnuts wrote: »

This needs to be looked at all right - did some duck shooting in the Hollymount area of Mayo on a M8's permission last few years and came across French shooters hitting woodcock hard on a nearby wetland several times.

Over shooting by tourist shooters of woodcock is out of control in a lot of the West in last few years

grassroot1

Capercaillie wrote: »

Russian birds winter in UK and Ireland, so article is relevant.

GWCT is a shooting organisation, so their data/research would not be biased against shooting.

Yes quite correct and possibly restraint is called for, however I fear those who should show restraint wont anyway.

grassroot1

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

Over shooting by tourist shooters of woodcock is out of control in a lot of the West in last few years

This is the real problem

Grizzly 45

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

I


Stopping tourist shooting of them here, stopping commercial sale to game dealers & shooters being conservative in numbers they shoot, which most usually are, should be enough in the short term.

ASFIK it is illegal to sell Woodcock to GD 'ers here in the Republic anyway.NI not so.

Woodcock shot

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

I know.



Possibly



Not independent so.

Stopping tourist shooting of them here, stopping commercial sale to game dealers & shooters being conservative in numbers they shoot, which most usually are, should be enough in the short term.

I agree 100% about the tourist shooting, totally wrong for it to be possible to make profit off migratory species, big problem in my area too,

Walter Mittys Brother

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

ASFIK it is illegal to sell Woodcock to GD 'ers here in the Republic anyway.NI not so.

Really? Where would I get confirmation of that?

zeissman

Walter Mittys Brother wrote: »

Really? Where would I get confirmation of that?

The ban on the sale of Woodcock is in place since the 1st of November 2015.
If you do a search on Google you will find it.

Grizzly 45

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woodcock-sellers-have-wings-clipped-under-new-law-34157002.html

http://www.woodcockireland.com/updates.htm


https://countrysideallianceireland.org/ie/shooting/sale-of-woodcock-prohibited-republic-of-ireland

Walter Mittys Brother

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/woodcock-sellers-have-wings-clipped-under-new-law-34157002.html

http://www.woodcockireland.com/updates.htm


https://countrysideallianceireland.org/ie/shooting/sale-of-woodcock-prohibited-republic-of-ireland

Very interesting, thanks

useurowname

Whatever is going on the birds are not there their this season. I've never met as few woodcock . Teal are non existent in the bits of the midlands I shoot, I'd say the ones I did come across(ie two) were locals. It's worrying.

blackpearl

Capercaillie wrote: »

Russian birds winter in UK and Ireland, so article is relevant.

GWCT is a shooting organisation, so their data/research would not be biased against shooting.

Then thats good enough ,once its not that shower bird watch ireland .

cavan shooter

Ive been shooting woodcock a long long time and prefer tit to pheasants. It is possibly the best type of shooting youll get.
The fact that farmers are draining and clearing every bit of hazel and cover so they can get there grants, coupled with tourist shooters and gawbeens out taking bags of 10 and 12 per outing is the problem and then posting it on FB.

You'd dishonest to yoursel iif you said the numbers are the same as they were in the past. It's not one specific problem and we as shooters need to show restraint or we will have no woodcock because the PTB will close the season.

Grizzly 45

cavan shooter wrote: »

I.
The fact that farmers are draining and clearing every bit of hazel and cover so they can get there grants,

Must be a new set of grants in then:)...Land drainage grants haven't been available for decades.Ireland gets very little in grants nowadays from the EU[SSR], in fact, we contribute to the grant scheme for improvised east bloc countries who are being granted these days..Plus, doing stuff like that would be putting your REPS payment in serious jeopardy.

Birdnuts

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Must be a new set of grants in then:)...Land drainage grants haven't been available for decades.Ireland gets very little in grants nowadays from the EU[SSR], in fact, we contribute to the grant scheme for improvised east bloc countries who are being granted these days..Plus, doing stuff like that would be putting your REPS payment in serious jeopardy.

The problem Griz is that farmers will lose farm support payments(BPS, SFP etc.) if they don't take all the scrub and wetland areas out of these grant applications as payments are only made on land that can be grazed or cropped. Unless such places are designated under the Birds/Habitats directive, these habitats usually get bulldozed. They amount of habitat lost this away around the country in the last few years is truly frightening:(

grassroot1

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Must be a new set of grants in then:)...Land drainage grants haven't been available for decades.Ireland gets very little in grants nowadays from the EU[SSR], in fact, we contribute to the grant scheme for improvised east bloc countries who are being granted these days..Plus, doing stuff like that would be putting your REPS payment in serious jeopardy.

You are not quite right there.
If you dont have you entire farm area grazeable you will have a portion of your BPS cut.
REPS is long gone its GLAS now (most of the clearing is done before applicants join the scheme) One of the major bugbears i have with GLAS was clearing scrub or trees to sow a wild bird cover crop

Kat1170

cavan shooter wrote: »

Ive been shooting woodcock a long long time and prefer tit to pheasants. It is possibly the best type of shooting youll get.
The fact that farmers are draining and clearing every bit of hazel and cover so they can get there grants, coupled with tourist shooters and gawbeens out taking bags of 10 and 12 per outing is the problem and then posting it on FB.

You'd dishonest to yoursel iif you said the numbers are the same as they were in the past. It's not one specific problem and we as shooters need to show restraint or we will have no woodcock because the PTB will close the season.

In fairness I think 99% would agree with you there :D:D

blackpearl

cavan shooter wrote: »

Ive been shooting woodcock a long long time and prefer tit to pheasants. It is possibly the best type of shooting youll get.
The fact that farmers are draining and clearing every bit of hazel and cover so they can get there grants, coupled with tourist shooters and gawbeens out taking bags of 10 and 12 per outing is the problem and then posting it on FB.

You'd dishonest to yoursel iif you said the numbers are the same as they were in the past. It's not one specific problem and we as shooters need to show restraint or we will have no woodcock because the PTB will close the season.

You might be better sticking to the pheasant hunting and that will be your bit done for helping the numbers of woodcock.

Capercaillie

blackpearl wrote: »

You might be better sticking to the pheasant hunting and that will be your bit done for helping the numbers of woodcock.

Are you going to cut back?

blackpearl

Capercaillie wrote: »

Are you going to cut back?

I have a rule i only shoot the woodcock that the dogs set if the bird flushes in front of me i do not shoot it.