American Woodcock Population Status PDF Download

Surveys designed to determine the population status of American woodcock indicate little change in recent continental breeding populations, but a continuing decline in production. The annual harvest of this species, meanwhile, continues to soar with an apparent upsurge in hunter's awareness of the woodcock's sporting qualities. Research activities continue to uncover information related to the reliability of singing-ground surveys while banding operations in Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, and West Virginia testify to the feasibility of expanding this very important program throughout North America. West Virginia has contributed significantly to this program through its improvement of the night-lighting technique which was developed in association with their primary objective of evaluating the importance of hunting as a mortality factor. Woodcock bandings and recoveries from the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge are being examined to determine more about the characteristics of this lightly harvested population and to better understand their use of various habitat types.