A total of 598 Woodhens were captured and banded by the LHIB Woodhen Survey team in the settlement and areas of the Permanent Park Preserve between 2-12 April.
During the two-week banding period, 564 new and previously unbanded woodhens were banded. Colour bands were replaced on a further 35 birds. 455 birds were fitted with an orange colour band, and 144 birds were fitted with a white colour band.
A sample of 175 birds were weighed with an average weight of 615g. The largest bird weighed came in at a whopping 950g – 70g heavier than any bird caught in any other year!
The Woodhen population is evidently continuing to increase. The previous survey, in 2022, ran for three weeks and counted a total of 1,147 woodhens, of which 538 were fitted with new bands.
Trialing new survey methods
The aim of this work was to ‘bag and band’ unbanded birds to improve the efficiency of the full survey in November when we will aim to count all birds within the settlement and accessible areas of the PPP.
An alternative survey method will be trialed alongside the current survey method, focusing on sampling a subset of the Woodhen population and using statistical methods to detect any significant changes or trends in the population. If the method is successful, there will no longer be a need to count every individual bird. This would increase the survey’s efficiency and reduce disturbance to the birds, leaseholders, and visitors.
Population growth
LHIB thanks community members for their cooperation in what has been a hugely successful management program. The Woodhen survey monitored the species since 1985, following a captive breeding program between 1981 and 1984. The population has grown from just nine breeding pairs in the 1970s to 250 individuals before the Rodent Eradication Program and to the thousands on the Island now.
