Pre-breeding migration and stopover patterns of Eurasian Woodcocks wintering in Italy

Understanding the spatial and temporal variations in migratory behavior is crucial for the effective conservation and management of migratory species. We used satellite telemetry to investigate the pre-breeding migration patterns of Eurasian woodcocks (Scolopax rusticola), a species which is subject to intense hunting pressure across its distribution range. Between 2019 and 2025, we deployed GPS-GSM transmitters on 178 individuals wintering or migrating along the Italian peninsula and in several islands, including Sicily, Sardinia, and Pantelleria, and obtained 108 pre-breeding migration episodes from 89 individuals. Among 101 of these episodes with sufficient data, the mean onset of pre-breeding migration was 12 March ± 11.85 (s.d.), with the earliest departure date being February 12. In total, we tracked 82 complete pre-breeding migrations (up to 2024). Most woodcocks migrated to putative breeding sites in northwestern Russia, along migration routes that were 3711.63 km ± 1405.23 long. Birds spent 48 ± 19 days migrating, with frequent stopovers (2-28 days), on average 4.51 ± 1.92 stopovers per migration episode. Furthermore, we highlight key stopover regions in the northwest part of the Balkans during March-April. Our findings suggest that ring recoveries have underestimated the significance of Russia—particularly Siberia—as a key origin of populations wintering in northern Italy. Siberia, in fact, is part of the breeding range of the woodcocks we tracked. We provide the first insights into inter-individual variation in stopover behaviour during pre-breeding migration of this intrapalearctic migrant.