Assessing American woodcock use of habitat managed through programs targeting a declining songbird

Abstract

The implementation of habitat management guidelines for golden‐winged warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) is believed to benefit additional species. To address widespread population declines of the golden‐winged warbler, species‐specific best management practices were developed and are guiding habitat‐based conservation programs across the species' breeding range. To date, thousands of hectares of golden‐winged warbler nesting habitat have been created across portions of the Appalachian Mountains and Great Lakes regions in the United States. The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) is expected to benefit from this habitat management. The woodcock has been declining for decades (0.84%/year in the eastern United States) largely because of loss of early successional communities like those required by the golden‐winged warbler. We examined the extent to which habitat management targeting golden‐winged warblers contributes to American woodcock conservation goals across a broad geographic extent. Additionally, we assessed various site‐ and landscape‐level factors to elucidate the context dependencies associated with successful conservation outcomes for this non‐target species. From 2015 to 2017, we conducted 1,554 American woodcock surveys at 774 unique locations treated with golden‐winged warbler best management practices across the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountains. Woodcock density was 0.84–1.24 males/ha in the Great Lakes region and 0.30 males/ha in the Appalachian Mountains. Density was also dependent upon within‐stand conditions (e.g., basal area, woody regeneration) and landscape features (e.g., wetland cover, mixed forest cover), the latter of which yielded strong geographic heterogeneity in woodcock densities. American woodcock can benefit from habitat management targeting the golden‐winged warbler, but the extent of these benefits is influenced by regional, landscape, and within‐stand contexts.