Woodcock in the city centre

[stevensi]

Hi All,

Had an unusal encounter this morning in work today. I work in the city centre (Dublin) and today while walking to a meeting I saw 4 hooded crows and some magpies attacking a bird. I got really close and scared of the crows and to my surprise the bird they were mobbing was a Woodcock. It did look very dazed and every time it attempted to take off a hoodie or magpie would attack. Eventually after much shooing away of the crows the woodcock took off. Hope it survived.

I have 2 questions which are why would the hooded crows and magpies attack the woodcock (hardly a threat?) also seeing a woodcock in such an area would be unusal? (although i do know that the city centre peregrine falcons here have been known to arrive at their nest with woodcock as prey)

Cheers

S

[Nicola Main]

Hi Steven what an interesting encounter. The only thing I can think of that might have happened is that the Woodcock was migrating over the city at night, got attacked (possibly by a Peregrine), managed to escape somehow or the falcon got spooked, then the Hoodies and Magpies started attacking it and then you intervened. Does that sound possible?

[Morph]

Crows and Magpies seem to mob anything large and unusual round the places I frequent. I seem to remember a report this year of a Corncrake in Manchester city centre, I think it was injured probably flew into a building in the night on migration.

[stevensi]

It was quite strange to see such a wonderful bird so close up but a little distressing to see it being mobbed by six or seven crows. On a point of strange birds turning up in the city centre. A water rail ended up flying through the window of a building here in Dublin city centre...

[Ruth Daniel]

What a fascinating occurance Steven!
I can only agree with Nicola & Morph in that it somehow got injured/lost and was then attacked.
It must have been upsetting to watch.

[shearwater66]

Many Woodcocks migrate to and through the UK during Autumn.The bird was probably just exhausted.
A few years ago during some good October,North easterly winds I came across 18 Woodcocks around the streets of Hartlepool in Cleveland.Some were resting in even the smallest front gardens,others were flying through the streets above the traffic........ the magic of birding!

[aeshna5]

Quite a few have turned up in central London over the years on migration. Twice I found one in some hospital grounds.