For several years, in May, we have been trying for France to provide our expertise on the complete quality of the past season, plus some indications for the large wintering countries.

This year to remain credible, we will not risk it. The Covid 19 has been there ...

Already in normal times the protocols allowing to calculate the ICA, IAN, Age / Ratio, weight mass remain questionable. For 2020/2021, the various confinements undergone further distorted the results.

Fewer outings, fewer hours of hunting, even more targeted outings, depending on the number of visitors at the time.

However, it seems that the fall migration was not significant, in any case down compared to the previous season.

This would confirm our observations on the quality of breeding 2020 which we rate as fair.

It should be noted the late cold snap of mid-February (the most dangerous for Woodcock), in the North and East of France, in Belgium, in Germany.

Concentrations of birds, aberrant behavior, mortality on potential spawners.

Let's end on a positive point. Where the various regulations have all shown their ineffectiveness, the Virus and it alone will certainly have helped to preserve some Woodcock, by limiting the level of harvesting in the majority of the wintering countries ...

The Hunt of the Woodcock. July 2021