US Fish & Wildlife Service
Date of this Version
2008
Citation
Cooper, T.R., K. Parker, and R.D. Rau. 2008. American woodcock population status, 2008. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland. 15 pp.
Abstract
Singing-ground Survey data for 2008 indicated that the numbers of displaying American woodcock (Scolopax minor) in the Central Region declined 9.2 % from 2007; however, the Eastern Region was unchanged. There was no significant 10-year trend for woodcock heard in the Eastern Region during 1998-2008, while there was a significant decline in the Central Region. This represents the fifth consecutive year that the 10-year trend estimate did not indicate a significant decline in the Eastern Region, while it marks the first time since 2003 that the Central Region has had a declining 10-year trend. There were long-term (1968-08) declines of -1.2 % per year in the Eastern Region and -1.1 % per year in the Central Region. The 2007 recruitment index for the U.S. portion of the Eastern Region (1.6 immatures per adult female) was 4.2 % greater than the 2006 index and 3.6 % lower than the long-term regional index. The 2007 recruitment index for the U.S. portion of the Central Region (1.5 immatures per adult female) was 9.7 % lower than the 2006 index and was 7.6 % lower than the long-term regional index. The Harvest Information Program indicated that U.S. woodcock hunters in the Eastern Region spent 144,979 days afield and harvested 75,882 woodcock during the 2007-08 season, while in the Central Region, hunters spent 358,480 days afield and harvested nearly 214,162 woodcock.