General Des/Other Information | Roding | Where they Come From | Bag Returns and Population Densities |Research at Home

Woodcock are solitary for the most part except at mating time or during migration, and it is worth commenting on the activities of the males of the species at mating time, because it is at this time that researchers have established that the act of "Roding" which is the term given to the activities of male woodcock when they patrol their territory at dawn and dusk during the mating season?

They fly slowly across the tree line and are known to utter a series of sounds such as a croak to a shrill whistle, I personally have never heard this sound but there is plenty of evidence to support this activity, dominant males use this display to entice females to mate with them and to dissuade lesser males which are in the area and are lower down the pecking order from invading his selected area.
At this point it is worth mentioning the phenomenon of woodcock carrying their young away from danger, there is ample evidence from reliable individuals who have seen this most unusual defence mechanism at work, from game-keepers and country folk, to wildlife-artists all have given eyewitness accounts of woodcock lifting their chicks, held firmly between their upper/legs and depositing them to an apparent position of safety and then returning to remove the remaining chicks to safety.

There are those who have never seen this extraordinary sight and are sceptical and possibly rightly so, but like the elusive left and right you never know when it will appear in front of you.