The woodcock has become the latest bird in a growing list of metaphorical footballs to be punted about the field by the opponents of shooting. Its open season in England, Wales and Northern Ireland runs from 1 October to 31 January. In Scotland, the season opens a month earlier. It is this start date that has become the focus of ire for the anti-shooting groups.
The British woodcock is indeed of conservation concern; our native population is half that of its 1960s extent, with a believed current breeding figure of around 130,000. However, the woodcock was absent as a breeding species in Britain until the 19th century, and it is thought
