Fred,
In Stewart & Robbins the extreme date of spring departure for Woodcock is listed as Apr. 11, a record from Frederick Co. in 1952. This is the basis for setting the early safe date in mid April. Since Woodcock continue to display long after this it was felt that safe date was not a problem.
The peak migration time appears to be mid March with some variation from year to year. When Don Jewell was collecting window kills at the State Office Complex in Baltimore he found Woodcock on Mar. 12 and Mar. 21 in 1979. When I was doing the same a few years later, and one of the Baltimore Peregrines was roosting there, I found the head of a Woodcock on the corner of Eutaw and Preston Streets on the morning of Mar. 15, 1983. Though we stopped collecting specimens it was not unusual to see a dead Woodcock in March. There are always stragglers in migration. If you assume a bell-shaped abundance curve for pure migrants during the spring then it is reasonable to expect some migrants in April. Since the Atlas safe dates were designed intentionally to be conservative for all species to eliminate these stragglers from consideration the safe date for Woodcock was set at April 15.
As to whether woodcock display in migration I offer my own experience as an example. On Feb. 7, 1999 I heard a Woodcock displaying above my house in a suburban neighborhood. This is the only time I have heard Woodcock here so I conclude that it would be a migrant.
Bob Ringler
Eldersburg MD
---- "Frederick W. Fallon" <> wrote:
> This question and Jim Stasz' reply touches on an important problem - how
> to map out the breeding distribution of woodcocks. This is especially
> relevant now, when so many of us are engaged in the MD Breeding Bird Atlas.
>
> So I asked several leading woodcock authorities throughout the US
> whether males display during migration, and whether migrants are still
> going through MD as late as the Atlas "safe date" of Apr 15. Replies
> came back all over the block, leaving me with the impression that the
> question is still very much open. (A general concensus, at least,
> emerged that Apr 15 was too strict a safe date and it has in fact been
> pulled back to Apr 10).
>
> Something that might shed some light on the question: birders often come
> across woodcock on the Mall, or downtown Baltimore, or other
> non-breeding locales. Has anyone ever heard them display in such places?
> And what is the latest date for such sightings?
>
> Fred Fallon
> PG Coordinator, MD-DC Breeding Bird Atlas
> Bowie MD
>
>
> Jim Stasz wrote:
>
> > Hi Folks!
> >
> > I have to post something that has bothered me for a very long time. There is
> > a notion that American Woodocks display while in migration. I have yet to
> > find the source of information that shows this is true. If anyone can help,
> > please do.
> >
> > One idea is that males display randomly, wherever there is a suitable habitat
> > to show-off, hope for the best and then continue migrating. Another idea is
> > that the males display to females that have already chosen a nesting area and
> > the males move on...presumably north. Finally, there is the idea that males
> > display for a suitable period and remain in the area. The final answer will
> > have a significant impact on methods used for determining the breeding range.
> >
> > I have gone to places where American Woodcock display in the "off-season"
> > and, with patience, usually find them. I will have to dig up the citation, but
> > one source stated that nests typically occur within 300 feet of the display
> > area. This makes some sense because nesting and display should be in the same
> > area; however, it does not prove anything about males displaying while in
> > migration. The fact that the start, peak and end of display timing is later as
> > one moves north is a feature common to most migrating species.
> >
> > Are there any studies, such as banding or radio-tagging, that shed light on
> > this question?
> >
> > Good Birding!
> >
> > Jim
> >
> > Jim Stasz
> > North Beach MD
> >
> > |