American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)

McAuley, Daniel G.; Keppie, Daniel M.; Whiting, R. Montague

doi:10.2173/bow.amewoo.01

Cited by 18 publications

(33 citation statements)

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“…This observation and the influence of inclement weather on woodcock collisions provide insight into collision risk factors for this species. Woodcocks are among the earliest spring migrants of all North American birds, arriving in the northern US by early March and in northernmost breeding areas in Canada by early April (McAuley et al 2013). This early migration makes woodcocks likely to encounter snow and ice storms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inclement weather and American woodcock building collisions during spring migration

et al. 2020

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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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inclement weather and American woodcock building collisions during spring migration

et al. 2020

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“…These four monitoring data sets provide inconsistent inference on woodcock population trends. Previous analyses of band-recovery data from 1967 to 1982 yielded estimates of annual survival rates ranging from 0.31 to 0.39 for juvenile females and 0.52 to 0.58 for adult females (Krementz and Bruggink 2000, Longcore et al 2000, McAuley et al 2013. Fecundity estimates based on harvest data collected over a longer time period indicate a fecundity rate of 0.79 fledged females per adult female (Zimmerman et al 2010).…”

Section: Data Setsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3). We additionally constrain fecundity by assuming that mean clutch size per female is uniformly distributed between zero and four, based on known woodcock breeding ecology (McAuley et al 2013). Our fecundity estimates represent age ratios during spring banding (i.e., pre-fledged brood sizes) and hence do not incorporate summer mortality of juveniles.…”

Section: Integration Of Submodels and Estimation Of Fecunditymentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling data discrepancies with integrated population models

Saunders

Farr

Wright

et al. 2019

Ecology

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A common challenge for studying wildlife populations occurs when different survey methods provide inconsistent or incomplete inference on the trend, dynamics, or viability of a population. A potential solution to the challenge of conflicting or piecemeal data relies on the integration of multiple data types into a unified modeling framework, such as integrated population models (IPMs). IPMs are a powerful approach for species that inhabit spatially and seasonally complex environments. We provide guidance on exploiting the capabilities of IPMs to address inferential discrepancies that stem from spatiotemporal data mismatches. We illustrate this issue with analysis of a migratory species, the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), in which individual monitoring programs suggest differing population trends. To address this discrepancy, we synthesized several long‐term data sets (1963–2015) within an IPM to estimate continental‐scale population trends, and link dynamic drivers across the full annual cycle and complete extent of the woodcock's geographic range in eastern North America. Our analysis reveals the limiting portions of the life cycle by identifying time periods and regions where vital rates are lowest and most variable, as well as which demographic parameters constitute the main drivers of population change. We conclude by providing recommendations for resolving conflicting population estimates within an integrated modeling approach, and discuss how strategies (e.g., data thinning, expert opinion elicitation) from other disciplines could be incorporated into ecological analyses when attempting to combine multiple, incongruent data types.

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“…We found that over a quarter of SGS route buffers had MAD values !5 when compared to blocks, and based on published precedent (Veech et al 2012(Veech et al , 2017, we identified these route buffers as failing to provide good representation of their local surroundings. Individual cover classes with large absolute differences included grassland-pasture, a cover class associated with courtship and roosting opportunities for woodcock (McAuley et al 2013). Nonetheless, when we considered route buffers in aggregate, differences between land covers for route buffers and Minnesota were generally 5 percentage points.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We considered deciduous-mixed ESF, shrub-scrub, and woody wetland ESF as cover classes with the potential for nesting, brood rearing, or foraging and grassland-pasture as a cover class with the potential to serve as singing grounds or roosting areas (McAuley et al 2013). Successional stage or forest structure, rather than plant species composition, is an indicator of diurnal habitat quality for woodcock, although conifer stands may be little used in northern parts of the breeding range (Straw et al 1994, Kelley et al 2008, McAuley et al 2013. Accordingly, we aggregated deciduous and mixed forest cover classes into a single deciduous-mixed cover class and retained evergreen forest as a separate class as an assumed non-habitat component.…”

Section: Esf Geospatial Layermentioning

confidence: 99%

American woodcock singing‐ground survey sampling of forest type and age

et al. 2018

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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. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)

Cited by 18 publications

References 0 publications

Inclement weather and American woodcock building collisions during spring migration

Inclement weather and American woodcock building collisions during spring migration

Disentangling data discrepancies with integrated population models

American woodcock singing‐ground survey sampling of forest type and age

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