How much wood would a woodcock cock if a woodcock could cock wood?

Today's adventure saw Luc and me off on a twilight Woodcock survey for the BTO. Luc enjoyed the walk in but, as usual, wasn't so keen on the standing around bit. This was a 75 minute vantage point survey - by definition requiring standing around - and under the circumstances it went pretty well!

I'm not sure I'd really thought through what would probably happen, but if I had gone to the trouble of conceiving some expectations, this would certainly have exceeded them. Some grizzling, frantic finger-sucking and much walking up and down on the spot and - amazingly - he fell asleep. In the middle of a wood...

I'd gone prepared with a range of options, including a des res collapsible cot (thanks Lynn) but in the end it was the trusty Baby Bjorn sling that did the trick. He loves that sling...

Oh - and we DID see Woodcock. Lots of sightings, as the males flew around doing their trademark grunt-grunt-whistle display flight. This means that they are breeding in the wood (my old Landrick wood, for those of you that know it). Ancient birch and oak woodland hidden away on the edge of Dunblane.

It would be a one-in-a-million fluke to find a nest - they are such secretive birds - but it's nice to know that there are Woodcock in here year round. In winter, they are different birds, enjoying the relative 'warmth' of Scotland. Amazingly these birds leave in spring, heading off to central Europe or Russia, and are replaced with UK breeders. It seems inefficient, doesn't it?! Take a look at this amazing map of satellite-tagged birds: http://www.woodcockwatch.com/

We encountered a new nocturnal friend on the walk home, to add to Luc's growing collection (but note that he always seems to have his eyes firmly shut when I find something interesting!).

Dunblane is surprising rich in wildlife and we suspect that at least one creature is new to science. Dunblane's answer to the Loch Ness monster perhaps? The animal in the video below was spotted recently and is thought to be a close relative of the dinosaur Torosaurus (left). If confirmed as a new species, we plan to name it Lucosaurus.

 

Oh - and in other news, and to check that you read my blog posts all the way to the bottom... Look what I picked up on one of my trail cameras over the weekend... Happy days! :-) I could literally throw a stone from our back garden to this spot where this video was taken.