Population status

American Woodcock
(Scolopax minor)

The most reliable source of population data for this species is the American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey, a species-specific survey that tracks the number of singing male woodcock at fixed routes each spring. This survey has demonstrated a steady, moderate decrease in the North American population of about 1% per year since it began in 1968; changes vary among Canadian provinces from relatively stable in the small Manitoba population, to moderate decreases elsewhere in Canada. A recent analysis dividing the Eastern and Central management regions for woodcock showed that the 10-year trend (2004-2014) declined in both regions (Cooper and Rau 2014). However, the survey does not capture the northernmost portion of the range, nor a large portion of the southern range, and the use of singing rates as an index of population size could introduce a number of possible biases (Sauer and Bortner 1991). Despite these criticisms, it is unlikely that the survey grossly misrepresents the true population status.

American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey

Additional information on: American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey

References

• Cooper, T.R., and R.D. Rau. 2014. American Woodcock Population Status, 2014. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland. 16 pp. Cooper, T.R., and R.D. Rau. 2014. American Woodcock Population Status, 2014. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland. 16 pp. (Link)
• Gendron, M.H., and A.C. Smith. 2014. National Harvest Survey web site Migratory Bird Populations Division, National Wildlife Research Centre, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. Gendron, M.H., and A.C. Smith. 2014. National Harvest Survey web site Migratory Bird Populations Division, National Wildlife Research Centre, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario. (Link)
• Keppie, D.M. and R.M. Whiting, Jr. 1994. American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Keppie, D.M. and R.M. Whiting, Jr. 1994. American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)
• Sauer, J.R. and J.B. Bortner. 1991. Population trends from the American Woodcock singing-ground survey, 1970-88. Journal of Wildlife Management 55:300-312.