Migration
Update 18 November 2019: Large numbers of woodcock are Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. More woodcock are continually arriving in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Recent winter storms have covered much of norther New England and southern Canada in Snow, forcing the few remaining woodcock south. The first few birds in Rhode Island and West Virginia have initiated migration, but most birds are remaining near their capture sites.
Woodcock marked in Nova Scotia are for the most part still in the province, with only 2 of 6 birds crossing the Bay of Fundy or Gulf of Maine. The remaining birds are either still at the capture site or at stopover sites still on the province. When the woodcock leave (if they do) they will encounter an increasingly snow covered Maine and northern New England.
We recently documented the longest single night migration for the project. A juvenile male flew ~1,000 kilometers or 630 miles in a single flight! And even after that long-distant flight, he made smaller migration journeys the following three nights!
The most recent location and general distribution of our marked birds are shown on the map below, and some past updates as well as our historic migration data are archived below.
For more information on the GPS-tracking technology that we use, visit our transmitter page.
Woodcock marked in Nova Scotia are for the most part still in the province, with only 2 of 6 birds crossing the Bay of Fundy or Gulf of Maine. The remaining birds are either still at the capture site or at stopover sites still on the province. When the woodcock leave (if they do) they will encounter an increasingly snow covered Maine and northern New England.
We recently documented the longest single night migration for the project. A juvenile male flew ~1,000 kilometers or 630 miles in a single flight! And even after that long-distant flight, he made smaller migration journeys the following three nights!
The most recent location and general distribution of our marked birds are shown on the map below, and some past updates as well as our historic migration data are archived below.
For more information on the GPS-tracking technology that we use, visit our transmitter page.
Update 12 November 2019: Large numbers of woodcock are departing from New England and southern Canada. The majority of woodcock in New York have initiated migration and large numbers of migrants are in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Woodcock have begun reaching their wintering grounds along states bordering the southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
We have increasingly observed woodcock migrating from Nova Scotia across the Gulf of Maine, however 2 birds are still near the capture site as of 11/12/2019. We are interested to see how long the woodcock remain before migrating south!
We still have not observed any migration initiations from woodcock in Rhode Island, West Virginia, or Virginia, despite large number of birds moving through those states.
We have increasingly observed woodcock migrating from Nova Scotia across the Gulf of Maine, however 2 birds are still near the capture site as of 11/12/2019. We are interested to see how long the woodcock remain before migrating south!
We still have not observed any migration initiations from woodcock in Rhode Island, West Virginia, or Virginia, despite large number of birds moving through those states.
Update 07 November 2019: Most woodcock have left Ontario and Quebec, however we do still have one marked bird in Eastern Quebec that has yet to initiate migration. A second woodcock has left Nova Scotia and appears to have crossed the Gulf of Maine. More woodcock in New York are starting to initiate migration but no marked birds from Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, or West Virginia have.
A handful of woodcock have arrived in North Carolina and Virginia. We do not know if birds are just stopping over or if they are in the process of establishing winter residencies.
A handful of woodcock have arrived in North Carolina and Virginia. We do not know if birds are just stopping over or if they are in the process of establishing winter residencies.
Update 04 November 2019: Woodcock are continuing to migrate from Canada into southern Canada, northern New England, and the Great Lake States. All but two woodcock have initiated migration in Quebec and Ontario and only one of six has initiated migration in Nova Scotia. We observed one woodcock migrating from Southern Nova Scotia across the Gulf of Maine and he is currently in east central Maine.
Few woodcock marked in New England have initiated migration. One woodcock left western New York and is currently in southern Ohio, but few other birds have initiated migration. Cooler weather is moving into New England later this week and we will have to wait and see how birds respond.
Capture crews in Virginia and West Virginia have deployed 16 transmitters in the past two weeks. We are excited to see where these woodcock migrate to and how long migration takes. Stay tuned.
Few woodcock marked in New England have initiated migration. One woodcock left western New York and is currently in southern Ohio, but few other birds have initiated migration. Cooler weather is moving into New England later this week and we will have to wait and see how birds respond.
Capture crews in Virginia and West Virginia have deployed 16 transmitters in the past two weeks. We are excited to see where these woodcock migrate to and how long migration takes. Stay tuned.
Update 31 October 2019: The only new migratory movements documented were birds leaving eastern Quebec. All other marked woodcock have remained at stopover locations or near their capture sites.
Update 27 October 2019: A few birds more birds from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia have initiated migratory movements in the last few days, but a number of birds remain in these areas as well, so we expect continued movements of birds out of eastern Canada over the coming days/weeks.
Southern migration by resident woodcock in the northeastern U.S. have been minimal, so right now there are likely large numbers of both migrant and resident woodcock present in northern states.
Southern migration by resident woodcock in the northeastern U.S. have been minimal, so right now there are likely large numbers of both migrant and resident woodcock present in northern states.
Update 24 October 2019: Our most recent uploads have confirmed additional birds moving out of Ontario and Quebec on the heels of the major weather system that moved through eastern North America on October 18th. However some marked birds remained in northern areas of Quebec as recently as October 23rd, so we expect further migration events as more birds move into southern Canada and lake states like Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.
So far, southern migration by resident woodcock in the northeastern U.S. have been minimal, and birds marked in Nova Scotia are likewise staying put.
Update 22 October 2019: Woodcock on the norther range extent have started migrating. All birds from eastern Ontario and a sub-sample of woodcock from sites in eastern and western Quebec have initiated migration. Most birds that crossed the Great Lakes, stopped over on off-shore islands immediately before crossing the lakes.
We've also observed one bird from western New York move 200 miles directly west into Michigan
Migration seems to be primarily occurring in Canada, however some shorter distance movements have been observed in both New York and Pennsylvania.
Spring migration during 2019 was fascinating to watch. Of interest and excitement to us, a number of our woodcock marked in the southeast and mid-Atlantic last winter used westerly migration routes, which is relatively uncommon in the literature. Notice the fan-shaped migration coming out of southeastern South Carolina. Another woodcock marked on the eastern shore of Maryland migrated west, across two of the great lakes and is currently in Wisconsin. All locations on the map below were collected during spring migration of 2019. Scroll further down for additional maps from Fall 2018 and from our pilot field season in Fall 2017, and for some examples of interesting woodcock behavior that represent the types of data we will use to address our project research objectives..
This map depicts migration paths of our GPS-tagged American Woodcock as they made their way from wintering areas northward during spring migration. The map includes data from birds marked during September and October 2018 at northern breeding areas, as well as birds marked during winter 2018/19 in southern wintering sites. These data will allow us to characterize important migration routes and stopover sites throughout eastern North America.
This map depicts the migration paths of our satellite-tagged American Woodcock during their fall migrations of 2017 and 2018, color-coded to the state or province in which they were marked. This highlights the significant variation in migration paths taken by individual woodcock captured in the same location. All data were collected during September-December in either 2017 or 2018, and the stopover locations of birds we followed during 2018 are showed below. Map created by Erin Pickett.
