What is a woodcock? This question has been heard not only from children or girls but also from hunters. It is understandable – Latvians are not very interested in bird hunting.
We are more interested in hunting large game, wolves, lynxes, and ducks. Woodcocks were once hunted in spring, during their mating season. As dusk approaches, the redwings whistle, then thrushes start to sing, and suddenly there is silence. Then comes: csik! csik! kvorr! The first woodcock flies. Against the darkening sky, its distinctive silhouette with the long beak is visible. Woodcock hunting at dusk used to be one of the favorites. Even today, men nostalgically remember the romantic woodcock hunting evenings.
However, since spring bird hunting has been banned, only waterfowl remain in autumn. The loss of interest in woodcock hunting is understandable because to find this colorful bird in the autumn forest, one needs a very good hunting dog and experience.
Unlike Lithuania and Estonia, Latvia has not yet encountered professional woodcock hunters. In Estonia, on Hiiumaa, Italians, Spaniards, and French have been hunting for eight years. About the same time ago, a woodcock hunting base was established in Lithuania, in the Nemunas River delta. Foreign hunters are attracted not only by the hunt itself but also by the opportunity to train young dogs in areas rich in wild birds.
Allow us to introduce – Nikola Depaoli and Ernesto Filipi. Passionate and professional woodcock hunters from Italy. Nikola breeds English setters. Ernesto is a winemaker, owning a small vineyard and winery. They travel to different countries, seek better hunting grounds, and organize hunts and training sessions.
Traditions in Italy
In Italy, it is allowed to hunt quite a variety of birds, including hazel grouse. But there is one big condition: woodcocks and hazel grouse may only be hunted with dogs. To raise a suitable helper, usually English setters, a lot of work is required, and they must be trained in natural conditions with wild birds.
Woodcock hunting in Italy is extremely popular. N. Depaoli explains that bird density in his country is very different from that in the Baltic states during migration. We have a unique opportunity in autumn to find and hunt several dozen birds daily. Of course, this does not mean one should hunt excessively. Local populations and migrating birds must be protected, and the harvest should be limited. But compared to Italy, Estonia and Lithuania are truly a woodcock paradise. He does not yet know Latvia, as he has not had a chance to assess the number of woodcocks in our forests. However, judging by preliminary estimates, the distribution of migration routes, and reports of migratory birds’ appearances in Estonia and Lithuania, it can be confidently said that Latvia’s forests have many woodcocks in autumn. This is indeed the case. Even if one is not interested in woodcock hunting, many hunters have flushed this long-billed bird during driven hunts.
Of course, woodcocks do not live everywhere in the country under all conditions. There are specific habitats where “Scolopax rusticola” can be found.
- Dipaoli and E. Filipi arrived in Pape to explore opportunities and locations for autumn woodcock hunting. The South Kurzeme forests along the Baltic coast have many suitable habitats. Woodcocks like wet areas with rich humus dark soil, such as in transparent deciduous forests, birch groves, bushes, sparse forests with fallen leaves, wet lowlands with shrubs and young trees. They enjoy deciduous tree plantations, forest-meadow edges, and wet meadows. If a meadow is mowed, woodcocks will surely come to feed on worms. Near pastures for cows, sheep, and horses, provided there is a nearby forest, woodcocks can also be found. Cow dung is one indicator of woodcock presence. A hunter should examine the droppings: if it has many approximately 5 mm holes, woodcocks are likely nearby.
Woodcocks also adapt well to not-too-dense spruce forests, but not just any forest. Spruces should be of different ages, with many young trees, and older trees must have low branches. There are different spruce species, and not all retain lower branches on old trees. Sometimes woodcocks can also be found in pine forests, but only immediately after flying over from the previous migration stop. They rest there and then move to more typical habitats.