2015 Woodcock Surveys
For the past month or so I've been conducting Woodcock Surveys for the University of Arkansas. A professor there is studying Woodcock migration, and Cari, a creative graduate student working on a masters degree and assisting with the study reached out seeking volunteers to submit data. She built a team of volunteers on her own initiative, mainly because the university needed data pertaining to Woodcock migration, and they lacked funds. To date she has 260 volunteers in four states.
Over the late winter and early spring I conducted about fifteen surveys, each consisting of staking out a potential display field and then waiting for darkness--the mating displays normally begin about twenty minutes after sunset. I checked a different spot each night because they wanted multiple sites surveyed rather than the same ones multiple times. I either saw or heard Woodcock during all but three or four nights on prospective Woodcock display fields ranging over three counties.
The study ends in Illinois today, 9 April; however, Woodcock mating displays, for resident birds, will continue for at least another month--we usually get them on the Spring Bird Count. Here are some things I learned during this year's surveys:
The early Woodcock arrivals are most likely migrants that won't stick around. During migration, like most birds, they're excited to get up to their nesting grounds, and because their hormone levels are rising, perform mating displays at stopover locations while waiting for the next winds from the south. (Very few birds can fly long distances against the wind, and wait for winds blowing the direction they want to go.) During their trip north, they can be found displaying in a wide range of habitat. I found them one night in an agricultural field, and Cari told me that another volunteer once found them in a city park.
Migration ended here, I think, a week or so ago, which helps explain why our Woodcock Mating Display field trip of 30 March was not a resounding success. The date was midway between the departure of migrating birds and the smaller number of resident birds had either not yet arrived or had not selected nesting location and associated display fields. But nevertheless Woodcock were present on that evening. We saw one, heard two or three "Peent" calls, and heard one or two flight songs.
As Spring progresses Woodcock are found less in agricultural fields or other abnormal habitat, mainly because migration is winding down. The birds that nest here, of course, find their preferred habitat, which consists of overgrown fields near woods. They nest in the woods, hence their name, but display in open areas not far removed from their woods so that they can be seen by females as they rise into the air, spiraling upward to an average of 250 feet. Some of these display areas have grasses several feet in height as well as scattered shrubs and trees.
Great Horned Owl and Woodcock don't mix. I surveyed a field of prime Woodcock habitat in the Santa Fe Bottoms a few nights ago. A fellow birder spotted Woodcock there a few weeks ago, and accordingly it was worth visiting. Shortly after dark, about the time I'd expect to hear Woodcock, I heard instead the soft hoots of a Great Horned Owl. It hooted five or six times, and then flew past my vehicle and landed in a row of trees not far away. I checked with the university about the likelihood of Great Horned Owls scaring away Woodcock, and their response was: "As for the Great Horned Owl, yes, they will definitely keep woodcock quiet or keep them from an area. Owls are attracted to singing grounds [display fields] because they can make for an easy meal, the woodcock will react accordingly."
While waiting in the darkness on many evenings, I spotted several species of mammals including White-tailed Deer, Coyote, Red Fox, Raccoon, Opossum, bats, and Groundhog. All were enjoyable alternative natural experiences.
Cari will earn her Master's degree this summer, and will enter the real world, but I suppose another graduate student will pick up where she leaves off, and if so, we can look forward to more fun finding Woodcock next year.
