Monitoring Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) with Pointing Dogs in Italy to Inform Evidence-Based Management of a Migratory Game Species

The phenology of migratory bird species is a crucial aspect of their biology that has far-reaching implications for wildlife management, particularly when these species are hunted as game. For this reason, many monitoring projects have investigated the presence of Western European bird species in diverse Palearctic regions using abundance indexes. Here, our aim was to define Woodcock's presence in Italy during the post-nuptial migration, the wintering phase, and at the beginning of the pre-nuptial migration phase, using monitoring data collected between September and March for the period 2016 to 2021. The presence of Woodcock in Italy and other regions of the Mediterranean basin can be compared using an index, specifically the "Indice Cynegetique d'Abondance" (ICA) which corresponds to the number of different Woodcock flushed during a hunting trip. We modelled the abundance of Woodcock as a function of biotic (habitat type, vegetation) and abiotic (place, season, temperature, altitude) factors to assess the presence of Woodcock in Italy Our findings reveal that temperature and altitude have an inverse effect on the abundance index of Woodcock in Italy, while deciduous woodland is a preferred habitat for the species. We observe an increase in Woodcock's presence from the end of September to late November, followed by a decrease in late January. Moreover, we have identified a significant rise in the ICA index during the latter part of February and early March, indicating the pre-nuptial migration period. Our study contributes significantly to our understanding of Woodcock migration phenology, particularly with respect to the management of the species in Italy and other Mediterranean basin states. Our results underscore the importance of long-term monitoring programs for evaluating key spatial population metrics such as presence and abundance, which are critical for sustainable hunting and effective conservation management of game species.