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We conducted the first validation of the deuterium dilution method as a nonlethal technique for estimating the body composition of a shorebird during fall staging as birds fatten in preparation for their migration. For this validation, we captured male (n = 12) and female (n = 8) American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) in the fall of 2018 and 2019 in southern New England, USA. We developed predictive models for estimating body composition of woodcock given each bird’s body mass and deuterium space, a proxy for total body water space, estimated using the deuterium dilution method. Accuracy and precision of these predictive models were assessed by comparing the model predictions with directly measured body composition. The top models predicted whole-body lean and fat mass with a relative error of 1.37% and 11.26%, respectively. In comparison, conventionally used morphology-based condition indices were poor predictors of fat mass in fall-staging woodcock. We applied this method to accurately estimate body composition dynamics of woodcock during fall staging, a period of fattening in the annual cycle that is pertinent to subsequent migratory movements, phenology, survival, and habitat management for woodcock. This nonlethal technique also has broad applicability to other migratory birds that show substantial changes in body composition as they prepare for key life-history events such as migration.

Most species distribution models (SDMs) predict the probability of presence (POP) of a species at any location based on an analysis of known occurrences and environmental variables; however, such SDMs cannot predict how much the POP of a species that requires young forest would change if a new patch of young forest is created at a certain location. We developed a new SDM tool to identify and prioritize sites where forest management efforts to create young forest vegetation would likely have the most positive effect for Scolopax minor (American Woodcock), an important umbrella species for other birds that require similar habitat. The primary output of the tool was a 50-m raster of the predicted POP in any upland forest location in the state after young forest is created. We conducted a preliminary assessment of the predictions of the tool, and concluded that our new tool can allow land managers to identify optimal locations on their properties to create young forest for woodcock, and help conservation agencies identify private landowners with suitable properties for improving woodcock habitat.

American woodcock Scolopax minor (hereafter woodcock) migration ecology is poorly understood, but has implications for population ecology and management, especially related to harvest. To describe woodcock migration patterns and phenology, we captured and equipped 73 woodcock with satellite tracking devices in the Central Management Region (analogous to the Mississippi Flyway) of North America and documented migration paths of 60 individual woodcock and 87 autumn or spring woodcock migrations during 2014–2016. Woodcock migration at the scale of the Central Management Region was more synchronous in spring than in autumn, but unlike most other migratory birds, average duration of autumn migration (31 days) was shorter than duration of spring migration (53 days). This difference in migration duration resulted from woodcock making more close-together migratory stopovers during spring migration, not because woodcock had individual stopovers of longer duration. During autumn migration, the number of days, the number of stopovers, migration end date and net migration displacement were negatively related to initiation date and rate of migration, and the number of stopovers and the net migration displacement were negatively related with migration end date. Spring migration duration, end date, the number of stopovers and net migration displacement were negatively related to migration rate and initiation date was positively related to migration rate, suggesting that woodcock that initiated spring migration later had faster migration rates. Juvenile female woodcock began spring migration later than adult female woodcock. Our results provide a basis for comparing current harvest seasons with presence of migrating woodcock during autumn and provide insight into differential harvest of migratory versus local woodcock on breeding areas.

Weather appears to influence collisions of migratory birds with human-built structures including buildings, but formal analyses are lacking. In 2018, as part of a two-year study at 21 buildings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, we observed a large number of American woodcock Scolopax minor collisions during two early spring snowstorms. We describe these events, analyze associations between weather and woodcock collisions during spring 2018, and compare observations to past studies across the woodcock's range. Most spring 2018 woodcock collisions (11 of 15; 73.3%) occurred in association with the two snowstorms. Analyses indicated collisions were positively associated with maximum and average wind speeds the night before collision surveys, and most collisions occurred with north winds. Collisions also increased with lower cloud base height two nights before surveys. These results support that woodcock collisions were greatly influenced by inclement weather, specifically the coincidence of strong north wind and low clouds. Comparing results to past studies illustrates that building collisions could be a major range-wide source of woodcock mortality, especially in spring migration when mortality is likely additive. Although more research is needed to understand range-wide, population-level effects of woodcock collisions, management to reduce building collisions during migration may benefit woodcock populations. Additional research is needed to clarify effects of weather on bird collisions because management efforts could be refined if collisions of woodcocks and other bird species were forecastable like the weather.

The American Woodcock Conservation Plan calls for halting and reversing declines of American woodcock (Scolopax minor) populations through creation and management of early successional forest (ESF). Counts of displaying male woodcock along routes of the American woodcock singing‐ground survey (SGS) are used to assess regional population status and trends, and there is a need to assess whether SGS routes represent the region. We assessed whether individual SGS routes (330‐m buffers) in the Boreal‐Hardwood and Prairie‐Hardwood Transitions of Minnesota, USA represented land covers within local landscapes, defined using simulated 10‐minute blocks, and whether the routes, in aggregate, represented land covers of our study region. Our land covers included non‐forest classes, age‐based ESF (≤20 years), and persisting classes for deciduous‐mixed and evergreen forests and woody wetlands. We found that the median value of mean absolute differences (MAD) between percentages for route buffer and block cover classes was 3.78 percentage points. Twenty‐two of 81 (27%) route buffers had MAD values ≥5 percentage points. Within Minnesota, more of these routes (19 of 22) occurred in the Boreal‐Hardwood Transition than in the Prairie‐Hardwood Transition. Relative to local landscapes, route buffers most frequently and strongly under‐represented open water, barren land, evergreen ESF, persisting woody wetlands, and woody wetland ESF and over‐represented developed land and grassland‐pasture. When we compared routes in aggregate to our study region, the magnitude of percentage point differences for individual covers did not exceed 5, except for open water. Given the relatively small differences we observed, we conclude that SGS routes well represent land covers within our study region.

Due to long term declines of American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) and widespread distribution of environmentally available lead (Pb) throughout their geographic range, it is important to assess if Pb exposure is a potential contributor to these declines. Woodcock are exposed to Pb through various environmental sources and are known to exhibit relatively high bone-Pb concentrations. Absorption of Pb by birds, and woodcock specifically, is not well understood. Some studies show that interactions among calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and vitamin D levels may play an important role in Pb absorption. Therefore, when future Pb studies are performed for woodcock, and other birds, interactions among these elements should be considered. For example, these interactions are relevant in the acquisition and mobilization of calcium in female birds during egg development and shell calcification. These factors should be considered to understand potential mechanisms of Pb exposure, Pb absorption, and subsequent Pb toxicity to birds in general, and woodcock specifically. This review discusses Pb exposure routes, effects of Pb toxicity, and the distribution of Pb in American woodcock and identifies areas for future research in woodcock and other avian species.

Landscape capability (LC) models are a spatial tool with potential applications in conservation planning. We used survey data to validate LC models as predictors of occurrence and abundance at broad and fine scales for American woodcock (Scolopax minor) and ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Landscape capability models were reliable predictors of occurrence but were less indicative of relative abundance at route (11.5–14.6 km) and point scales (0.5–1 km). As predictors of occurrence, LC models had high sensitivity (0.71–0.93) and were accurate (0.71–0.88) and precise (0.88 and 0.92 for woodcock and grouse, respectively). Models did not predict point-scale abundance independent of the ability to predict occurrence of either species. The LC models are useful predictors of patterns of occurrences in the northeastern United States, but they have limited utility as predictors of fine-scale or route-specific abundances. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

American woodcock (Scolopax minor) are managed as a Central and an Eastern population in the United States and Canada based on band return data showing little crossover between populations or management regions. The observed proportion of crossover between management regions, however, depends on the criteria used to subset the band return data. We analyzed the amount of crossover between management regions using only band return records that represent complete migrations between the breeding and wintering grounds by using only band return records in which the capture took place during the breeding season and the band recovery took place during the wintering season or vice versa (n = 224). Additionally, we applied spatial statistics and a clustering algorithm to investigate woodcock migratory connectivity using this subset of migratory woodcock band return records. Using raw counts, 17.9% of records showed crossover between management regions, a higher proportion than the

The multiscale nature of habitat selection during the breeding season for migratory birds means that core-use areas (e.g., breeding territories) are selected based on their local habitat features, but these may also be influenced in some way by features within a larger-scale landscape. We conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment to test the hypothesis that habitat selection and movements of male American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) in core-use areas during the breeding season depend on the perceived quality of the surrounding landscape. We captured second-year male woodcocks (n = 19) at high- or low-likelihood of use landscapes in Rhode Island, USA, affixed each with a radio transmitter, relocated them to the opposite type of landscape, and then determined if they returned to their original site of capture or remained in the landscape to which they were relocated. Birds captured in high-likelihood landscapes and moved to low-likelihood landscapes generally returned to their original high-likelihood landscape (5/7, 71%), but birds captured in low-likelihood landscapes and moved to high-likelihood landscapes rarely returned to their original low-likelihood landscape (1/12, 8%). These results support the hypothesis that woodcock assess their surroundings relatively rapidly and subsequently make critical settlement decisions based on landscape composition. Given that woodcock choice is predicted by the woodcock-specific resource selection function, these results also provide support for the use of this tool to guide forest management for woodcock.

Cape May, New Jersey is an important stopover area for American woodcock (Scolopax minor,; hereafter woodcock) during fall migration along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Previous research has indicated that many woodcock stop at Cape May prior to crossing Delaware Bay; however, little is known about survival of woodcock while using Cape May. To better understand woodcock survival on Cape May during fall migration and to estimate emigration rates for woodcock migrating through Cape May, we captured and marked a total of 271 woodcock with VHF transmitters and radio-tracked them weekly from November through early January 2010-–2013. Of the 271 marked woodcock, our radio-tracking efforts indicated that 131 migrated from Cape May, 57 remained on Cape May, 72 died, and 11 were censored. We used a multi-state model within Program MARK to estimate weekly survival and emigration probabilities for marked woodcock. Our best-supported model indicated that survival rate varied by year, but was constant by week within years. Weekly survival rate estimates ranged from 0.894 (95% CI = 0.834 – 0.934) in 2010 to 0.962 (95% CI = 0.928 – 0.981) in 2011, which equates to a 9-week period survival rate ranging from 0.365 (95% CI = 0.185 – 0.545) to 0.706 (95% CI = 0.541 – 0.870), respectively. The 2010–-2011 field season was marked by several large snowstorms during which a large percentage of marked woodcock died, whereas the other 3 years had more mild conditions and higher woodcock survival rates. Our best-supported model indicated that weekly emigration rates varied by year and week, with each year showing a different pattern of emigration from Cape May. Survival and emigration information will be useful in the development of future demographic-based population models for woodcock migrating along the Atlantic Coast.

Use of dogs has increased for multiple wildlife research purposes ranging from carnivore scat detection to estimation of reptile abundance. Use of dogs is not particularly novel for upland gamebird biologists, and pointing dogs have been long considered an important research tool. However, recent advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and the development of hierarchical modeling approaches that account for imperfect detection may improve estimates of occupancy and density of cryptic species such as the American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock). We conducted surveys for woodcock using a trained pointing dog wearing a GPS collar during the winters of 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 in East Texas, USA. We surveyed 0.5-km-radius circular plots (n = 24; survey sites) randomly placed along secondary roads in Davy Crockett National Forest and on private timber property. Surveys lasted 1.5 hrs and were repeated 3–5 times each winter. We estimated woodcock occupancy and density using multiple modeling approaches at the survey site and forest stand scales within survey sites. Woodcock occupied 88% (21/24) of survey sites and 48% (39/82) of forest stands (i.e., unique cover types) within sites. Using a modified distance sampling technique, we estimated an average density of 0.16 birds/ha (SE = 0.13) throughout both study areas. We describe the first attempt to blend use of pointing dogs with hierarchical modeling approaches to derive estimates of regional diurnal woodcock occupancy and density, and describe relationships between these estimates of abundance and habitat covariates. Although forest stand occupancy estimates had the lowest coefficients of variation, our estimates of density provided the most useful inference of habitat use. Surveys using pointing dogs paired with hierarchical models of occupancy and density may provide a cost-efficient and effective approach to estimate habitat abundance at broad spatial scales.

The Singing-ground Survey (SGS) was designed to exploit the conspicuous breeding-season display of male American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) to monitor these otherwise inconspicuous birds. The SGS was standardized in 1968 and has since been conducted annually to derive an index of abundance and population trend. Counts of singing male woodcock on the SGS have generally declined through time, but without knowledge of the relationship among counts, woodcock abundance, and the factors affecting detection, considerable uncertainty remains in interpretation of SGS data. Using modified SGS protocols, we surveyed SGS routes in Pine County, Minnesota, in 2009 and 2010 and developed models to assess factors associated with detection probability and estimated occupancy. The intercept-only model (i.e., constant detection and occupancy probabilities across sites and no covariates) included overall detection probability of 0.59 (SE = 0.018) in 2009 and 0.66 (SE = 0.017) in 2010 with an occupancy estimate of 0.74 (SE = 0.049) in 2009 and 0.81 (SE = 0.044) in 2010. The best-supported model of detection probability for both years combined included detection as a function of woodcock abundance, observer, date, disturbance level (i.e., ambient noise that interfered with detecting woodcock), and wind speed. High wind speeds were negatively related to detection, different observers had different detection probabilities, date was quadratically related to detection (indicating a mid-period peak in detection), and high woodcock abundance and low disturbance levels were positively related to detection. We provide suggestions for incorporating these resulting into SGS protocol and analyses.

Estimates of total harvest help inform harvest management decisions, but such data are also useful for estimating population size and composition in demographic models. Historical estimates for U.S. harvest of American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter woodcock) are available from 2 separate surveys: the 1964−2001 duck stamp survey (DSS) that sampled woodcock hunters who also hunted waterfowl, and the 1999−2016 Harvest Information Program (HIP) that sampled all licensed woodcock hunters. During overlap years (1999−2001), HIP estimates of total woodcock harvest were approximately twice as large as DSS estimates, but with only 3 years of overlap there was little potential to develop robust correction factors for historical DSS data. I developed a model of historical woodcock harvest that posited 3 groups of woodcock hunters, including those who always, sometimes, or never hunted waterfowl. During the HIP survey all 3 groups were included in harvest surveys; during the DSS years, however, only woodcock hunters who always hunted waterfowl were reliably sampled during all years, but I used annual duck stamp sales as a covariate to help predict harvest by woodcock hunters who hunted waterfowl irregularly. Using a reverse-time (2016 to 1964) model that assumed these 3 proportions of harvest remained constant through time, I was able to estimate total harvest in all years by estimating the latent component of harvest by non-waterfowl hunters. Averaged over all harvest jurisdictions, this model estimated that hunters who always, sometimes, or never hunted waterfowl contributed 43%, 32%, and 25% of the total woodcock harvest. Using these relationships, I estimated total harvest during all years (1964−2016) using data from both harvest surveys, although estimates based only on DSS data had greater uncertainty. In combination with band recovery data and harvest composition from the Parts Collection Survey, analysts could use estimates of historical harvest to estimate population size, composition, fecundity, and survival dating back to the initiation of harvest surveys in 1964.

Annual assessment of American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) populations in North America relies primarily on the American Woodcock Singing-Ground Survey (SGS). Ancillary information concerning harvest and hunting effort comes from the Harvest Information Program (HIP), and indices of recruitment come from Wing Collection Surveys (WCS). We report on long-term trends in SGS, HIP, and WCS data in the Eastern and Central Management Regions in the U.S. Analyses of SGS data indicate there have been significant long-term (1968–2017) declines of 1.05% per year in the Eastern Management Region and -0.56 % per year in the Central Management Region. Discontinuance of some routes and their replacement with new routes may have artificially lessened the long-term negative trends in the SGS. Since 2013, total harvest and number of days hunters spent pursuing woodcock have been below the long-term average (1999–2015) in both management regions. Age ratios (number of immatures per adult female) were temporally variable but exhibited no long-term trend in the Eastern Management Region. In the Central Management Region, age ratios were generally higher during the beginning of the study (1963–1987) period versus the latter part (1988–2016).

Methods for locating American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter woodcock) whether individuals, nests, or broods, have remained largely unchanged for more than 75 years, but use of current technology has the potential to increase efficiency and decrease observer-caused disturbance. Primary methods of searching for and locating woodcock have included the use of pointing dogs, and telemetry after capture using mist nets, nightlighting, or live traps. We tested the feasibility of using Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) cameras to locate individual woodcock, nests, and broods in the spring (24 March – 11 May) of 2015 as part of a research project to determine the timing of nest initiation along 3 American Woodcock Singing-Ground Survey (SGS) routes in southwestern Pennsylvania. By using FLIR to search potential woodcock nesting cover adjacent to SGS routes, we located a total of 28 nests and 4 broods, 2 of which were not linked to a previously known nest. We also located 180 individual woodcock. Searching took place over a total of 22 days, not all contiguous, for a total of 58.05 hours. Nest-searching efficiency using FLIR was 0.48 nests/hour compared to published reports of efficiency using historical search methods ranging from 0.03–0.4 nests/hour. The FLIR method is not only more efficient, but provides a non-intrusive approach to locating and monitoring nesting woodcock. In addition to nesting ecology, FLIR may have additional applications in woodcock research, including improving efficiency of capture methods and monitoring nocturnal behavior and habitat use. The technology also proved to be excellent at locating other birds and mammals, and therefore has many possible uses in wildlife research.

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) is an important game species in central and eastern North America. In this paper, we argue that the wildlife community should consider several novel ideas. At the landscape level, one of the most effective ways to perpetuate aspen (Populus spp.) forests is through commercial forest management. Aspen underpins the major forest products industries: its fiber is highly sought after for pulp, paper, oriented strand board and other engineered lumber products, and lumber. The most cost-effective and reliable way to maintain woodcock habitat is through commercial forest management and through periodic timber harvests. Non-commercial habitat management is possible but expensive and time consuming. Support for forest products industry business attraction and development is good for woodcock habitat, good for local communities, and good for local economies. We recommend that the wildlife community consider greater involvement in the broader social discussion over the use of wood products, and be actively engaged in discussions involving economic development and energy use by the forest products industry at the state and local level.

Loss of young forest, also termed early successional forest, in North America is negatively impacting wildlife populations that rely on this regenerating forest type, especially birds. The Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (WYFP) targets young forest management efforts to benefit American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) on private lands in Wisconsin. The WYFP uses an adaptive strategy to iteratively evaluate and adjust their habitat management activities. Citizen science can be a valuable evaluation tool in this process. The WYFP aims to develop a citizen science program whereby landowners monitor woodcock in management areas on their properties. We explored the woodcock monitoring preferences and abilities of landowners through questionnaires, interviews, and pilot woodcock surveying to inform the development of a citizen science woodcock monitoring program. Landowners were enthusiastic about participating in woodcock monitoring. When creating a citizen science program for monitoring woodcock it is important to use English units for estimating distance, evaluate landowners’ physical ability to hear peenting woodcock, provide in-person monitoring training, and have flexible data submittal options. Development of a successful citizen science program for monitoring woodcock requires balancing researcher goals with participant preferences and abilities.

The American Woodcock Conservation Plan calls for halting and reversing declines of American woodcock (Scolopax minor) populations through creation and management of early successional forest (ESF). Counts of displaying male woodcock along routes of the American woodcock singing-ground survey (SGS) are used to assess regional population status and trends, and there is a need to assess whether SGS routes represent the region. We assessed whether individual SGS routes (330-m buffers) in the Boreal-Hardwood and Prairie-Hardwood Transitions of Minnesota, USA, represented land covers within local landscapes, defined using simulated 10-minute blocks, and whether the routes, in aggregate, represented land covers of our study region. Our land covers included non-forest classes, age-based ESF (20 years), and persisting classes for deciduous-mixed and evergreen forests and woody wetlands. We found that the median value of mean absolute differences (MAD) between percentages for route buffer and block cover classes was 3.78 percentage points. Twenty-two of 81 (27%) route buffers had MAD values 5 percentage points. Within Minnesota, more of these routes (19 of 22) occurred in the Boreal-Hardwood Transition than in the Prairie-Hardwood Transition. Relative to local landscapes, route buffers most frequently and strongly underrepresented open water, barren land, evergreen ESF, persisting woody wetlands, and woody wetland ESF and over-represented developed land and grassland-pasture. When we compared routes in aggregate to our study region, the magnitude of percentage point differences for individual covers did not exceed 5, except for open water. Given the relatively small differences we observed, we conclude that SGS routes well represent land covers within our study region.

During April – June 1987 and 1988, we remotely monitored 14 radio-marked female American Woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter woodcock) at 18 nest sites on Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Maine, U.S.A., to determine patterns and constancy of nest incubation behavior. On average, females spent 93% of their time on the nest and 7% off the nest, leaving nests for an average of 104.2 minutes during a 24-hour period. Time off the nest each day did not vary by year, daily high temperature, or amount of daily precipitation. Our data suggest that renesting females spent more time off nest/day than females on first nests, and that second-year females made more diurnal recesses from the nest than aftersecond- year females. Most woodcock left the nest during crepuscular periods. Our results provide information about nest incubation constancy, and may be useful for informing woodcock research and habitat management.

Estimating American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) vital rates at a landscape scale requires considerable effort and expense, but provides a means of assessing population response to management. Age ratios derived from capturing woodcock (e.g., age ratios derived from mist-netting or night-lighting) during late summer may be useful proxies of local production, and require much less effort and expense to obtain than estimating local production directly. To assess whether such age ratios were similar to estimates of production derived from estimating vital rates, we estimated post-breeding-season age ratios (juveniles/adult female) at a habitat-management demonstration area in west-central Minnesota using radio telemetry and nest monitoring, and by capturing woodcock using mist nets and night-lighting. In 2011 and 2012 we radio-marked and tracked 41 adult female and 73 juvenile woodcock and monitored 51 broods and 48 nests; we used the collected data to inform population models and derive post-breeding-season age ratios. In July of 2011 and 2012, we captured 204 woodcock using mist nets by exploiting crepuscular movements from diurnal feeding cover to roosting fields and 69 woodcock via night-lighting on nocturnal roosting fields. Estimates of age ratios derived from our population model were 1.07 (95% CI: 0.27 – 2.45) in 2011 and 2.59 (95% CI: 1.04 – 4.95) in 2012. We attribute the higher point estimate of age ratio in 2012 to higher nest and juvenile survival rates during that year. Age ratios from mist-netting were 3.82 (95% CI: 1.99 – 7.13) in 2011 and 2.37 (95% CI: 1.43 – 3.73) in 2012 and from night-lighting were 1.62 (95% CI: 0.69 – 3.28) in 2011 and 0.42 (95% CI: 0.06 – 1.00) in 2012. Age ratio point estimates derived from mist-netting and night-lighting varied considerably between years, with neither method providing a ratio similar to point estimates derived from our population model. The only statistically significant difference (based on 95% CIs) between any of our age ratio estimates was for night-lighting in 2012, with that estimate being lower than the estimates from mist-netting and our population model. Based on these results, age ratios of production of young derived from mist-netting and might-lighting in late summer may not reflect local production, and may be influenced by both local and landscape-scale movements of woodcock following the breeding season. We conclude that without further evaluation of factors that affect post-breeding-season age ratios of local woodcock populations, age ratios derived from mist-netting and night-lighting in summer may not be useful proxies of local recruitment.

Migratory bird species pose serious management challenges because it is difficult to determine habitats utilized during their entire life cycles. As American woodcock populations have experienced long-term declines, wintering habitat management has become increasingly important. Past studies on woodcock have relied predominantly on Very High Frequency (VHF) telemetry, which require an observer to manually track them to gather location information. Our study employed both Global Positioning System (GPS) and VHF tags on woodcock to gather high resolution movement data in order to evaluate habitat use and compare VHF and GPS approaches to habitat sampling. We simulated a VHF approach to tracking the same individuals from the GPS tag data (spanning 252 bird-days) and utilized vegetation samples from our VHF tracked birds to evaluate use and random paired location sampling. We found that many random locations fell within the Minimum Convex Polygons (MCP) as defined via the GPS tags (average diurnal MCP size was 0.04 ha). Overall, our results suggest that evaluating resource selection by woodcock requires discerning the appropriate scale(s) of habitat selection via the identification of the spatial and temporal components underlying individual movement ecology.

American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) have experienced long-term population declines across much of their breeding distribution since 1968. Previous research suggests that nocturnal habitat availability on the wintering grounds is important to wintering woodcock survival. We compared 4 different land management techniques: mowing, burning, disking, and a mow/burn combination for enhancing nocturnal habitat for woodcock in south-central Louisiana. From 2011–2013, we monitored study plots during overcast nights throughout winter months. We detected woodcock most frequently in both the burn and mow treatments and least frequently in the disk treatment. The total numbers of woodcock we captured and flushed were 13 times greater in the burn treatment than in the disk treatment. We captured 24 times more juvenile woodcock in the mow and burn treatments than in the disk treatment. We captured 12 times more female woodcock in the burn treatment than in the disk treatment, whereas we captured 9 times more male woodcock in the mow treatment than in the disk treatment. Our results suggest that suitable nocturnal habitat for woodcock on the wintering grounds in south-central Louisiana can be enhanced by burning and/or mowing.

Engaging private landowners in the conservation of American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) in the northeastern United States is important because most forests in the region are privately owned. For this reason, a consortium of conservation agencies in the region has been encouraging private landowners to create young forest vegetation types. This study summarizes the achievements and lessons learned through 3 components of a collaborative outreach program as practiced in Rhode Island, USA since 2008: 1) providing technical and financial assistance to private landowners to support woodcock habitat creation, 2) developing a woodcock management demonstration area in the Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area to support research and landowner trainings, and 3) conducting research on landowner involvement in the creation of young forest. We found that the financial and technical assistance was an important factor motivating private landowners to create young forest. Furthermore, response to a follow-up questionnaire after our trainings was encouraging; 83% of the participants followed up with forest management on their own properties, and creation of young forest was the most common activity. The woodcock demonstration area strongly supported the training programs by allowing landowners to see regenerating clearcuts of 4 different ages in close proximity, and it was used as a research site to determine how woodcock selected certain-aged young forest patches. Our spatial analysis confirmed that the extent of young forest created in Rhode Island during the 7 years after 2004 was almost double the extent created during the previous 7 years, and that private landowners created more habitat than either government agencies or nongovernment organizations. We conclude that private landowners can play an important role in the conservation of woodcock, and recommend an expanded outreach program to mobilize them.

We used data from the Canadian component of the annual American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey (SGS) and data from the Canadian National Harvest Survey between 1975 and 2015 to assess temporal fluctuations in the population index, the number of American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) harvested in Canada, and the proportion of successful hunters in Canada. We performed analyses via generalized additive mixed models that allowed us to identify periods when there were significant changes in temporal trends, and years during which there were significant changes in the direction of the temporal trajectory. We included climatic conditions before, during, and after the nesting and brood-rearing seasons (i.e., prior to the hunting season) as explanatory variables in our model. We did not find any effect of climatic variables on the SGS index. The SGS population index showed a slow overall negative decline in Canada, but there were only 2 significant periods of decline (1978–1984 and 1992–1994). Woodcock harvest and the proportion of successful woodcock hunters increased with the size of the SGS population index in the spring. The total harvest and the proportion of successful hunters remained fairly stable during the study period, but both indices showed a period of significant decline that started ca. 2006, and that was followed by a period of significant increase that started ca. 2009.

Over the last half century, Wisconsin’s young (or early successional) forest cover has decreased in extent and declined in quality as habitat for associated wildlife. Consequently, many wildlife species have seen population declines. A majority of Wisconsin’s forests are privately owned, and the majority of forest owners report having no management plan. The Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (WYFP) is a group of agencies, organizations, and businesses that have come together to enhance young forests across ownerships. Together we have developed a program that uses concern for and interest in wildlife species to begin a dialogue with landowners who currently are not actively managing their forests. Over the past 5 years, we have learned what does—and does not—work when trying to begin a dialogue with forest landowners in north-central Wisconsin. The goal of the WYFP is to increase the managed area of aspen (Populus spp.), alder (Alnus spp.), and associated young forest cover to reflect the habitat conditions that American woodcock (Scolopax minor), ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), golden-winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera), and other species associated with early successional forest experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. We connect landowners to resources such as natural resource professionals, trained consulting foresters, and, in many cases, habitat funds to pay for plan writing and habitat management. The end result is landowners who are excited about forest management, are actively engaged in forestry practices to improve wildlife habitat, and who have a written plan to help them continue management on their property into the future. Full paper citation: Jeremy Holtz “Woodcock is Not a Dirty Word! Using Interest in Wildlife to Engage Private Forest Landowners,” The Wildlife Professional, 12(1), 32–35 (February 2018).

The American Woodcock Wing-collection Survey (WCS) is a cooperative survey (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS], State Wildlife Agencies, and U.S. woodcock hunters) that has been conducted annually since 1963 in the United States. The primary objective of the WCS is to provide an index to the reproductive success of American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) because age and sex of harvested birds can be determined using feather characteristics. Based on recent harvest survey information, U.S. woodcock hunters harvest ≈ 300,000 woodcock per year, whereas hunters participating in the WCS contributed an average of 13,400 wings per year during the 2008–2012 seasons. Based on the sample size and harvest estimate, the WCS currently samples about 4.5% of the harvested woodcock every year, which is a much higher rate than sampled for waterfowl. For example, the Waterfowl Parts Collection Survey sampled ≈ 0.25% of the Mississippi Flyway waterfowl harvest in 2012. My objective was to assess if there were any differences in the proportion of wings by cohort (adult male, adult female, juvenile male, juvenile female) if wing collection was limited to a hunter’s first 5 successful hunts, rather than all of their successful hunts as is currently done. I analyzed WCS data from the 2008–2012 woodcock seasons and used Pearson’s Chi-Square Goodness of Fit test to assess if the proportion of wings for each cohort differed between the full data set and data from a hunter’s first 5 successful hunts. Limiting data collection to the first 5 successful hunts resulted in a 5-year average (2008–2012) of 1,848 fewer envelopes and 4,202 fewer wings being submitted to the survey. Chi-square analysis indicated there was no difference in the proportion of wings by cohort between the full and partial data set. My results indicate that reducing the sample size of woodcock wings would not bias age ratio estimates and would result in considerable cost savings to the WCS. The FWS would realize cost savings through fewer envelopes having to be mailed and less staff time in processing wings when they are received.

American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter woodcock) best management practices (BMPs) applied at a landscape scale have been proposed to increase woodcock population densities, yet little information exists regarding population vital rates following application of BMPs. We estimated survival rates of woodcock adult females, nests, and juveniles at a woodcock habitat-management demonstration area in west-central Minnesota during the spring and summer (23 March – 30 June) of 2011 and 2012. We radio-marked and tracked 41 adult female and 73 juvenile woodcock, and monitored 51 broods and 48 woodcock nests to determine fates. We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to estimate survival rates of females, nests, and juveniles for both 2011 and 2012 and logistic-exposure models to assess relationships between survival and weather covariates, individual life history traits, and vegetation characteristics resulting from BMPs. Breeding season cumulative survival rate for adult females from 1 April – 30 June was 0.695 (95% CI: 0.357 – 1.052) in 2011, 0.740 (95% CI: 0.391 – 1.091) in 2012, and 0.751 (95% CI: 0.499 – 1.000) when pooling data from both years. Nest survival rate for the 24-day laying and incubation period was 0.458 (95% CI: 0.299 – 0.696) in 2011 and 0.786 (95% CI: 0.616 – 0.998) in 2012. Cumulative survival rate for juvenile woodcock for a 61-day period (1 May – 30 June) following hatch through mid-summer, when juveniles are independent from adults, was 0.330 (95% CI: 0.188 – 0.613) in 2011 and 0.576 (95% CI: 0.398 – 0.833) in 2012. In all logistic-exposure survival models, we included a year covariate (females: β2011= −0.16, 95% CI: −1.67 to 1.45, nests: β2011= −0.768, 95% CI: −1.70 to 0.166, juveniles: β2011= −0.85, 95% CI: −1.77 to 0.07) to account for between-year variation in survival rates, although removing that covariate in models did not result in changes in relations between survival rates and other covariates. Our best-supported model of female survival rate was the null model, suggesting female survival rate was constant across years, and our best-supported model of nest survival rate included only a year covariate. Our best-supported model of juvenile survival rate included the covariates year, juvenile age (βAGE = 0.098, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.16), minimum temperature (βMINT = 0.14, 95% CI: −0.004 to 0.28), and precipitation (βPCPT = −0.20, 95% CI: −0.39 to −0.01). Juvenile survival rate increased with age and decreased with the amount of precipitation and had a weak positive relation with stem density (βSTEM = 0.0001, 95% CI: 0.000 to 0.0003). Woodcock in our study almost solely used areas where BMPs had been applied on the landscape within the last 20 years and that had similar vegetation structure; in those settings, only juvenile survival rate was related to local environmental conditions.

The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) Singing-ground Survey (SGS) is conducted annually during the woodcock breeding season, and survey points along survey routes are set 0.4 mile (0.65 km) apart to avoid counting individual birds from >1 listening location. The effective area surveyed (EAS) at a listening point is not known, and may vary as a function of land-cover type or other factors. To define the relationship describing distance between vocalizing woodcock and an observer and how cover types influence that relationship, we broadcast a recording of woodcock vocalizations in 2 land-cover types (forest and field) at varying distance. We evaluated the proportion of call broadcasts detected as a function of distance and fit regression curves to detection data to estimate a distance (r*) where the area above the curve at distances r*, which allowed determination of the radius of an area where detection probability was effectively 1.0. This EAS had a radius (r*) of 198 m for forest, 384 m for field, and 309 m for both of these land-cover types combined, and an estimated size of 12.3 ha for forest, 46.3 ha for field, and 30.0 ha for both land-cover types combined. We used this information to estimate density of displaying male woodcock based on counts from the SGS in east-central Minnesota that incorporated variation in EAS, probability of detection, survey date, and survey route. Our density estimates (5.0 birds/100 ha in 2009 and 7.1 birds/100 ha in 2010) represent the highest density of singing male American woodcock yet reported, and indicated a substantive increase in density between years.

American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter woodcock) habitat use or selection has been studied extensively since the mid-1960s; most such studies, however, have taken place when and where young forest habitat selected by woodcock was relatively common. Woodcock population declines have been mostly attributed to loss of young forest vegetation types throughout the species’ range. Thus, understanding woodcock habitat selection and the benefits of habitat management in areas where young forests are rare is important in conserving woodcock and other wildlife that uses young forest. We conducted studies of male radio-tagged woodcock in Rhode Island, USA, when and where the extent of upland young forests in non-coastal areas comprised only 1.4% of the land area and was decreasing by ≥1.5% per year. We determined habitat selection of woodcock, then used the derived resource selection function to assess potential benefits of certain forest management scenarios for male woodcock and non-target birds. Landscapes comprising deciduous wetland forests, wetland young forests with nearby agricultural openings, or patches of upland young forest received relatively high use by woodcock. After integrating habitat management scenarios into GIS, our derived resource selection function suggested that creating fewer, larger patches of upland young forest and herbaceous forest openings may be less beneficial than creating more smaller patches. Openings with early-successional forest were an important component of woodcock habitat because they provided safe nighttime roost sites where mammalian predators were less active. These openings also provided habitat for a more diverse bird assemblage than unmanaged forests. Active habitat management is required to conserve woodcock populations in many landscapes, and managers should highlight the benefits of woodcock habitat management for non-target wildlife.

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor; hereafter, woodcock) Singing-Ground Survey (SGS) was developed to inform management decisions by monitoring changes in the relative abundance of woodcock. The timing of the designated survey windows was designed to count resident woodcock while minimizing counting of migrating woodcock. Since the implementation of the SGS in 1968, concerns over survey protocols that may bias data have been raised and investigated; however, the extent of survey coverage and the timing of the survey window zones have not been critically investigated. We used 3 years of data collected from male and female woodcock marked with satellite tags to assess the extent of survey coverage and the timing of the SGS survey windows relative to presence of woodcock. SGS coverage encompassed the majority of woodcock breeding-period sites (locations where marked woodcock returned to in spring) within the U.S. (n = 17, 92%) and approximately half of the breeding-period sites in Canada (n = 6, 43%). Thirteen of the 37 monitored woodcock with known breeding-period site arrival dates (35%) were migrating through a survey zone during an active survey window, all in the northernmost 4 of 5 SGS zones. Thirteen woodcock arrived at breeding-period sites after the start of surveys, and all but one of these was located in the northernmost 2 zones. The combination of migration through a SGS zone during the survey window and arrival at breeding-period sites after the beginning of the survey window in northern zones may result in the SGS weighing too heavily the contribution of routes in the southern portion of the primary breeding range, while weighing too lightly the routes in the northern portion of the primary breeding range. We suggest that additional information is necessary to evaluate whether current survey windows are sufficient, or whether they need to be changed.

Scolopax minor (American Woodcock) is well-known for its crepuscular foraging, nuptial sky dance, and concealment by both cryptic coloration and immobility. It occasionally engages in a highly conspicuous rocking motion that has been interpreted by some as a strategy for worm-hunting. However, the literature on this behavior, combined with current observations and theory, can instead more plausibly be interpreted as an advertisement of unprofitability.

To identify factors contributing to the long-term decline of American woodcock, a holistic understanding of range-wide population connectivity throughout the annual cycle is needed. We used band recovery data and isotopic composition of primary (P1) and secondary (S13) feathers to estimate population sources and connectivity among natal, early fall, and winter ranges of hunter-harvested juvenile American woodcock. We used P1 feathers from known-origin pre-fledged woodcock (n = 43) to create a hydrogen δ2Hf isoscape by regressing δ2Hf against expected growing-season precipitation (δ2Hp). Modeled δ2Hp values explained 79% of the variance in P1 δ2Hf values, indicating good model fit for estimating woodcock natal origins. However, a poor relationship (r2 = 0.23) between known-origin, S13 δ2Hf values, and expected δ2Hp values precluded assignment of early fall origins. We applied the δ2Hf isoscape to assign natal origins using P1 feathers from 494 hunter-harvested juvenile woodcock in the United States and Canada during 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 hunting seasons. Overall, 64% of all woodcock origins were assigned to the northernmost (>44°N) portion of both the Central and Eastern Management Regions. In the Eastern Region, assignments were more uniformly distributed along the Atlantic coast, whereas in the Central Region, most woodcock were assigned to origins within and north of the Great Lakes region. We compared our origin assignments to spatial coverage of the annual American woodcock Singing Ground Survey (SGS) and evaluated whether the survey effectively encompasses the entire breeding range. When we removed the inadequately surveyed Softwood shield Bird Conservation Region (BCR) from the northern portion of the SGS area, only 48% of juvenile woodcock originated in areas currently surveyed by the SGS. Of the individuals assigned to the northernmost portions of the breeding range, several were harvested in the southern extent of the wintering range. Based upon this latitudinal winter stratification, we examined whether woodcock employed a leapfrog migration strategy. Using δ2Hf values and band-recovery data, we found some support for this migration strategy hypothesis but not as a singular explanation. The large harvest derivation of individuals from the northernmost portions of the breeding range, and the difference in breeding distributions within each Management Region should be considered in future range-wide conservation and harvest management planning for American woodcock. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

Vermivora chrysoptera (Golden-winged Warbler) and Scolopax minor (American Woodcock, hereafter, Woodcock) are 2 young-forest-dependent species of eastern North America that are experiencing population declines due to loss of breeding habitat. The goals of our study were to compare avian abundance and habitat similarities and differences in sites used by the 2 species. A portion of our survey plots were manipulated under Woodcock or Golden-winged Warbler habitat prescriptions in managed shrublands, and others were on regenerating timber-harvest sites. In north-central PA, we compared Woodcock abundance in 10-ha experimental plots assigned to one of 3 habitat prescriptions: uncut controls, Woodcock strip plots, and Golden-winged Warbler mosaic plots. We also quantified vegetation characteristics in each 10-ha study plot. Woodcock density was higher in the strip (4.8 males/10 ha) and mosaic (5.1 males/10 ha) plots compared to the uncut reference plots (3.3 males/10 ha). Woodcock density was negative...

Declines of early-successional forest across the northeast United States during the past 60 years has caused declines in populations of associated birds and active forest management is necessary to reverse these trends. Land managers often focus on a few target species with hopes that non-target species are also conserved, but the effectiveness of management for so-called umbrella species is seldom verified. We compared bird assemblages at American woodcock (Scolopax minor) singing grounds and nearby, random forest sites to determine whether habitat management for woodcock benefits non-target bird species. Early- successional forest species were a key component of bird assemblages at singing grounds, but were largely absent from random forest sites. On average, the total number and diversity of birds were � 1.5 times greater at singing grounds. We also found evidence for broader landscape differences in the number of bird species expected at singing grounds (n ¼48; 95% CI ¼41-56) and random forest sites (n ¼34; 95% CI ¼28-41). Our results indicate that forest management to support woodcock populations extends some conservation benefits to diverse non-target bird species. Thus, the woodcock may serve as an effective umbrella species, especially for early-successional forest birds, but complementary umbrella species should be considered to aid in the conservation of birds that breed in more mature forest. 2015 The Wildlife Society.

Declines of young forest and associated populations of wildlife are major conservation concerns in the Northeast, USA. Active forest management is required to conserve declining populations of young forest wildlife and investigating habitat selection by target species can help inform management decision-making. The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) is a key indicator species of young forest whose populations have declined significantly since 1968. We investigated multiscale habitat selection by woodcock in Rhode Island, USA in order to characterize daytime habitat, and to predict state-wide relative probability of use by woodcock of forested land. We used radio-telemetry to monitor the daytime locations of woodcock at three state wildlife management areas from 23 May–25 August 2011 and 2012. Compared to random sites, woodcock selected younger forest where the biomass of preferred food (i.e., earthworms [Haplotaxida]) was 46–67% greater and the density of shrub and sapling stems was about two times greater. Most woodcock home ranges were

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) population has declined since the late 1960s across its range and is now considered a species of special concern. Research on woodcock habitat use during migration and migratory routes through the Central Flyway has been limited. We assessed woodcock phenology, estimated density, and nocturnal habitat use in fields on public lands in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley portion of Arkansas during November and December of 2010 and 2011. We used all-terrain vehicles to survey woodcock along transects in 67 fields of 8 field types. We analyzed data using hierarchical distance sampling. We detected woodcock from the first week in November through the third week in December but in low numbers. We did not detect woodcock in millet or rice fields, whereas woodcock had the highest estimated densities in unharvested soybeans. All other crop type–post-harvest management combinations had low woodcock densities. We did not detect woodcock in fields 40 ha. Woodcock in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley may benefit from management for unharvested soybean fields of moderate size (approx. 8–40 ha). © 2014 The Wildlife Society.

Moving between sites is a common behavior employed by prey in order to balance trade-offs associated with acquiring resources and avoiding predators. At dusk during summer, American woodcock frequently fly from diurnal coverts in forests to nocturnal roost fields. We tested 2 hypotheses, the foraging-benefit hypothesis and predation-risk hypothesis, to determine the benefit gained by woodcock that commute. We used telemetry to identify the diurnal coverts and nocturnal roost fields used by woodcock in Rhode Island, USA, during 2 summers. At each site, we measured the availability and diversity of woodcock prey, soil properties, and mammalian predator activity. Earthworms were 3–4 times more abundant at diurnal coverts than nocturnal roost fields. The richness and diversity of woodcock foods was greater at diurnal coverts during 2011 but similar between sites during 2012. Soil moisture content was about 1.5 times greater at diurnal coverts, whereas other soil properties were similar between sites. At night, mammalian predators visited diurnal coverts more frequently than nocturnal roost fields for 73% of the woodcock we monitored during 2011. During 2012, the number of days until initial predator visit was 1.8 times greater at nocturnal roost fields. Our results provide the first empirical support for the predation-risk hypothesis. During summer, woodcock fly from diurnal coverts to nocturnal roost fields to avoid predators and not to feed.

Male Scolopax minor (American Woodcock ) occasionally perform courtship behaviors outside of the primary breeding period. The costs and benefits of such behaviors are not known. We observed a Woodcock perform an aerial courtship display in Minnesota on 8 November 2010, a juvenile male emit peent vocalizations in Virginia on 12 December 1991, and a solitary individual emit a cackle vocalization in Georgia on 28 December 1994. These behaviors may have been aberrations that are selected against and therefore uncommon, influenced by environmental conditions, or performed to improve the quality of male courtship behaviors. Research and monitoring are needed to ascertain which if any of these explanations is correct.

We evaluated sites on an industrial forest in central Arkansas that American Woodcocks (Scolopax minor) used for courtship during their spring migration. Our main objective was to determine the vegetation characteristics used by male woodcocks on their courtship sites within early successional pine stands. We quantified use within three stages of early successional pine stand; pine seedling (1 year old), young-pine sapling (2–3 years old), and old-pine sapling (4–5 years old). We used crespuscular surveys as an index to the number of woodcock using each stand. We completed surveys in January–March 2010 and 2011 on eight stands of each stage (n = 24) during 7–10 day sampling periods across spring migration. We quantified the vegetation structure of each stand including the percent of bare ground, standing herbaceous, flattened herbaceous, shrub, coarse woody debris, and canopy cover and horizontal density. We found that woodcocks used stands with greater shrub, standing herbaceous, and flattened...

We estimated fall (10 Sep–8 Nov) survival rates, cause-specific mortality rates, and determined the magnitude and sources of mortality of 1,035 radio-marked American woodcock (Scolopax minor) in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin during 2001–2004. In all 3 states, we radio-marked woodcock on paired study areas; 1 of which was open to hunting and expected to receive moderate to high hunter use and the other of which was either closed to hunting (Michigan and Minnesota) or was relatively inaccessible to hunters (Wisconsin). We used Program MARK to estimate fall survival rates, to evaluate a set of candidate models to examine the effects of hunting and several covariates (sex, age, year, state) on survival, and to examine the relationship between survival rates and kill rates due to hunting. Hunting accounted for 70% of the 86 woodcock deaths in the hunted areas, followed by predation (20%) and various other sources of mortality (10%). Woodcock deaths that occurred in the non-hunted and lightly hunted areas (n = 50) were caused by predators (46%), hunting (32%), and various other sources (22%). Based on small-sample corrected Akaike's Information Criterion values, variation in fall survival of woodcock was best explained by treatment (i.e., hunted vs. non-hunted), year, and period (pre-hunting season intervals vs. hunting season intervals). The average fall survival estimate from our best model for woodcock in the non-hunted areas (0.893, 95% CI = 0.864–0.923) was greater than the average for the hunted areas (0.820, 95% CI = 0.786–0.854 [this estimate includes data from the lightly hunted area in Wisconsin]), and the average treatment effect (i.e., greater survival rates in non-hunted areas) was 0.074 (95% CI = 0.018–0.129). The kill rate due to hunting was 0.120 (95% CI = 0.090–0.151) when data were pooled among states and years. We detected a negative relationship between hunting kill rates and survival in our hunted areas, which suggests that hunting mortality was at least partially additive during fall. Our results illustrate the influence of hunting relative to other sources of mortality in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and indicate that managers may be able to influence fall survival rates by manipulating hunting regulations or access on public land. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

Since the late 1960s, American woodcock (Scolopax minor) have undergone population declines because of habitat loss. Previous research suggested ridge and furrow topography in conventionally tilled soybean fields provided critical nocturnal cover as birds foraged on earthworms. However, the use of no-till technology has increased and many fields now lack ridge and furrow topography. We assessed woodcock winter nocturnal foraging habitat use given recent changes in agricultural technology, and investigated how field treatment, earthworm abundance, and environmental variables affect the selection of nocturnal foraging sites. We counted woodcock along transects in 5 field treatments twice in each of 67 fields during December–March 2008–2009 and 72 fields during December–March 2009–2010. During both seasons, we collected earthworm and soil samples from a subset of fields of each field treatment. Woodcock densities were at least twice as high in no-till soybean fields planted after corn and in undisked corn fields with mowed stalks than in other field treatments. No-till soybean planted after corn and undisked corn fields contained ridge and furrow topography, whereas other crops did not, and earthworms were at least 1.5 times more abundant in no-till soybean fields than other field treatments. Ridges and furrows in no-till soybean fields planted after corn and undisked corn fields may provide wintering woodcock with thermal protection and concealment from predators. No-till soybean fields planted after corn offered the additional benefit of relatively high food availability. The presence of ridge and furrow topography can be used to predict woodcock field use on the wintering grounds in agricultural areas. Farmers can provide nocturnal winter foraging sites for woodcock by delaying field disking and leaving ridge and furrow topography in crop fields. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

Quality of recently used foraging areas is likely an important predictor of fidelity to specific locations in the future. We monitored movement and habitat use of 58 adult female American woodcock Scolopax minor at three study areas in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, USA, during autumn 2002 and 2003, to assess the relationship between foraging habitat use decisions and environmental conditions at previously used foraging locations. We assessed whether habitat variables which related to food and weather were related to distance between locations on subsequent days of individual woodcock that choose diurnal foraging locations when they return from night-time roosting locations. We predicted that woodcock would return to foraging locations used on the previous day (i.e. shorter distances between daily foraging locations) when environmental conditions on the prior day were favourable. Woodcock generally made short (i.e. 48% < 50 m and 91% < 400 m) between-day movements, but also occasionally (∼ 7%...

Fifteen American woodcock (Scolopax minor) nests were located in central Kentucky between February 1998 and April 1999. Twelve habitat variables were measured within a 0.04 ha circular plot centered at each nest site and at randomly located no-nest (control) sites. Mean angular canopy cover at the nest, and mean number of shrubs and trees in the 2.5–15.2 cm DBH range within the nest plot were found to be significantly different (P < 0.05) from control sites. The habitat variables of note associated with woodcock nest sites in Kentucky mirror the general trend reported elsewhere, i.e., the importance of mid-story and horizontal plant cover.

American Woodcock singing-ground surveys (SGS) have been conducted annually on Fort Drum Military Installation since 1992 (excluding 1993 and 2000). These SGS indicate Fort Drum has a stable to slightly increasing breeding woodcock population, with average numbers of males heard per route ranging between 13.00 and 22.58 birds. These numbers are significantly higher, and in stark contrast, to many parts of the American Woodcock's range, where numbers have been in decline for over 30 years. We suggest that current forest management practices and military training create favorable successional regimes that satisfy all necessary life-history requirements and help sustain these densities of breeding woodcock at Fort Drum.

Investigation of bird migration has often highlighted the importance of external factors in determining timing of migration. However, little distinction has been made between short- and long-distance migrants and between local and flight birds (passage migrants) in describing migration chronology. In addition, measures of food abundance as a proximate factor influencing timing of migration are lacking in studies of migration chronology. To address the relationship between environmental variables and timing of migration, we quantified the relative importance of proximate external factors on migration chronology of local American woodcock (Scolopax minor), a short distance migrant, using event-time analysis methods (survival analysis). We captured 1,094 woodcock local to our study sites in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (USA) during autumn 2002–2004 and documented 786 departure dates for these birds. Photoperiod appeared to provide an initial proximate cue for timing of departure. Moon phase was important in modifying timing of departure, which may serve as a navigational aid in piloting and possibly orientation. Local synoptic weather variables also contributed to timing of departure by changing the rate of departure from our study sites. We found no evidence that food availability influenced timing of woodcock departure. Our results suggest that woodcock use a conservative photoperiod-controlled strategy with proximate modifiers for timing of migration rather than relying on abundance of their primary food, earthworms. Managing harvest pressure on local birds by adjusting season lengths may be an effective management tool with consistent migration patterns from year to year based on photoperiod.

The Singing-Ground Survey (SGS) is a primary source of information on population change for American woodcock (Scolopax minor). We analyzed the SGS using a hierarchical log-linear model and compared the estimates of change and annual indices of abundance to a route regression analysis of SGS data. We also grouped SGS routes into Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) and estimated population change and annual indices using BCRs within states and provinces as strata. Based on the hierarchical model–based estimates, we concluded that woodcock populations were declining in North America between 1968 and 2006 (trend = −0.9%/yr, 95% credible interval: −1.2, −0.5). Singing-Ground Survey results are generally similar between analytical approaches, but the hierarchical model has several important advantages over the route regression. Hierarchical models better accommodate changes in survey efficiency over time and space by treating strata, years, and observers as random effects in the context of a log-linear model, providing trend estimates that are derived directly from the annual indices. We also conducted a hierarchical model analysis of woodcock data from the Christmas Bird Count and the North American Breeding Bird Survey. All surveys showed general consistency in patterns of population change, but the SGS had the shortest credible intervals. We suggest that population management and conservation planning for woodcock involving interpretation of the SGS use estimates provided by the hierarchical model.

Little is known about the migration ecology of the American woodcock (Scolopax minor). From 2001 to 2003, we began a 3-year study to document woodcock fall migration routes, rates, and habitat use from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, USA. Some 586 radiomarked woodcock initiated migration. During 224 hours of aerial telemetry, we located 42 radiomarked woodcock in 6 states. Using locations of radiomarked birds, we speculated woodcock migration routes in the central United States. Stopover duration often exceeded 4 days, with some birds stopping longer than a week. Radiomarked birds were located in upland habitats more frequently than bottomland habitats, and used a higher proportion of mature forest than expected. A Geographic Information System was used to map potential woodcock habitat in the Central Region. Based on our results, we identified possible fall migration routes and priority areas for woodcock management in the Central Region. Our results should be used by land managers to prioritize future land acquisition and management of woodcock habitat.

Band-recovery and wing-collection survey data have the potential to provide information on American woodcock (Scolopax minor) fall migration ecology in the Central Region of the United States, yet researchers have not recently analyzed these extensive data sets. We analyzed all direct recoveries of woodcock banded in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, USA, as well as wing-collection survey data, to determine the progression of fall migration, the migration direction, and the final destination of woodcock migrating from these states. We did not observe migration initiation based on band recoveries until late October and early November, with most migration occurring during November. Wing-receipt data showed a similar trend, with most change in mean receipt latitude occurring from 1 November to 5 December. During November, wing receipts were spread through the entire Central Region. By 15–31 December, 92% (n = 26) of band recoveries were on the wintering grounds (south of latitude 33°N). Most banded woodcock from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin wintered in Louisiana, USA. Woodcock banded in these states will be exposed to harvest for most of the hunting season because they remain in these states through November. If the population status of local birds is a concern, managers should consider this migration pattern when setting season dates.