Sir, Until recently my husband and I used to run a small shoot in East Sussex. Whenever the shout “woodcock” went up from the beaters, I felt strangely compelled to call out, equally authoritatively, “don’t shoot”. That most of those wonderful birds managed to escape in the ensuing confusion more than made up for the black looks I got at the end of the day (Nature Notebook, Oct 17, and letter, Oct 20).
Virginia Childs
Port Gaverne, Cornwall