Migration
08 May, 2023.
Our woodcock have mostly settled down for the spring, with all stationary except for LA-2023-17 and
LA-2023-25. LA-2023-17 moved from central Wisconsin in mid-April to the shore of Lake Superior, where this young male spent at least two weeks. He then moved about 200km northwest to northern Minnesota by 5/4. LA-2023-25, also a young male, last checked in at the beginning of April from central Wisconsin, and since then has moved north about 450km to Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Our collaborators in New York recently deployed a couple of GPS transmitters which are just starting to check in. More details to follow in the coming weeks!
01 May, 2023.
In the last two weeks, we've been busy, but our woodcock...not so much. The last week of April included a trip to West Virginia to deploy GPS units on birds there, with great success! We put out 17 transmitters in 5 days, and expect them to start checking in this week.
Most birds have stayed put over the last couple of weeks, and many have likely settled into their breeding territories. LA-2023-23 moved within 15km of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec. NS-2022-10 checked in for the first time since the fall, and was in central Massachusetts as of 3/30. We also tagged two birds in Wisconsin in mid-April, and they started checking in. WI-2023-01, a female, moved to Moose Lake, MN, as of 4/22, and WI-2023-02, a male, has remained where he was tagged.
In our interactive mapping tool below, you can view woodcock locations for a specific range of dates by toggling the slider. During periods of major migration in the Fall (Oct 15-Dec 15) and Spring (Mar 1 through mid-May) we update the database regularly, but given transmitter upload frequencies we expect about a +/- 3-day precision on our location data. Learn more about how our transmitter technology functions on our research page.
Winter and Spring 2023 Archive
Previous weeks' updates for 2022-2023 Wintering and 2023 Spring migration are below. For updates prior to January 2023, see our Migration Archives dropdown menu (under the Migration tab above), or visit our data exploration page to visualize previous years' migration data yourself.
Spring Migration 2023
21 April, 2023.
Only a couple movements to report since earlier this week, from SC-2023-26 and LA-2023-26.
SC-2023-26 isn't messing around - she spent a few days in Pennsylvania, then continued moving north, first to the outskirts of Montreal by 4/16, to Trois-Rivières by 4/18, and almost to Saguenay, QC by 4/20. LA-2023-26 spent about a week in the southern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and by 4/14 had moved about 100km north, not far from Marquette.
17 April, 2023.
Several check-ins to note this week: LA-2023-23 continues to amaze, moving even further north, all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence! I'm rooting for this male to make it all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador. NS-2022-07, a hatch-year male, last heard from last month in Pennsylvania, checked-in from eastern Nova Scotia.
We also saw a large movement from SC-2023-26 this week, moving from a nest in South Carolina to Scranton Pennsylvania. Studying female woodcock, we are finding that if they attempt to nest and the nest fails, they often will move northward before attempting to nest again. This is likely what happened with SC-2023-26.
10 April, 2023.
This week we had our first check-ins from SC-2023-26, a nesting female recently tagged in South Carolina. LA-2023-26 made a 500km movement north into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, while LA-2023-31, our second year male with 'cold feet' in Iowa, seems to have warmed up, making a large move north into Wisconsin, then directly west into Minnesota.
03 April, 2023.
A couple big movements this week, with LA-2023-23 continuing his northward push, moving 500km north along the St. Lawrence River as of 4/3! We had a surprise check-in from one of our Nova Scotia birds, NS-2022-10, who moved from balmy North Carolina sometime in the last couple of weeks to central Massachusetts as of 3/23, where he remains as of 3/30. We aren't sure how much longer the battery in his transmitter will last, so we are happy to see him check-in at all!
31 March, 2023.
There has been little activity since the check-ins on 3/27, other than a 300km movement northward by LA-2023-25 from northeast Missouri into southern Wisconsin. Stay tuned for more movement reports next week!
27 March, 2023.
Louisiana birds are mostly hanging tight in the same locations as last week, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. One bird remains in Iowa, and LA-2023-23 moved about 900km from southern Indiana into southern Quebec as of 3/25.
20 March, 2023.
More woodcock are on the move! One male Louisiana bird has made it all the way to central Wisconsin, and VT-2022-29 and 31 have moved north to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. All of our check-ins this week are males, which makes sense given they arrive on breeding grounds before females. Our northernmost females most recently checked-in on 3/10 from Missouri and North Carolina.
15 March, 2023.
Only a few new check-ins since the 13th, with all but one bird in a holding pattern. Instead of staying east of Des Moines, Iowa, sometime between the evening of 3/6 and the evening of 3/7, LA-2023-31, a second year male, decided to fly more than 100km southward! As this is his first migration northward, it's possible he's getting cold feet, pushing north so quickly (pun intended).
13 March, 2023.
Timberdoodles from Louisiana, Vermont, Nova Scotia are continuing their northward march, with more than half of our currently tracked birds on the move. We had our first check-in in more than a month from a fall 2022 Nova Scotia bird, NS-2022-07, a now second year male, making his way north from North Carolina into Pennsylvania. Several Louisiana birds have moved as far north as Indiana and Illinois. Check out the interactive mapping tool below for more details!
06 March, 2023.
Our birds are moving north! Almost half of the birds that checked in this week made large (>100km) movements. These birds include LA-2023-17, 23, 26 and 29. We also saw check-ins from a few 2022 tagged birds, NC-2022-40 and VT-2022-33, who both made big moves, and VT-2022-31, who is staying put in his North Carolina wintering grounds.
Two-thirds of these birds are males, but a couple females are also on the move. Spring seems to have sprung in woodcock eyes, despite the recent wintery weather in the Midwest and Northeast. Check back soon for more frequent updates as our birds keep moving!
Only a couple movements to report since earlier this week, from SC-2023-26 and LA-2023-26.
SC-2023-26 isn't messing around - she spent a few days in Pennsylvania, then continued moving north, first to the outskirts of Montreal by 4/16, to Trois-Rivières by 4/18, and almost to Saguenay, QC by 4/20. LA-2023-26 spent about a week in the southern part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and by 4/14 had moved about 100km north, not far from Marquette.
17 April, 2023.
Several check-ins to note this week: LA-2023-23 continues to amaze, moving even further north, all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence! I'm rooting for this male to make it all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador. NS-2022-07, a hatch-year male, last heard from last month in Pennsylvania, checked-in from eastern Nova Scotia.
We also saw a large movement from SC-2023-26 this week, moving from a nest in South Carolina to Scranton Pennsylvania. Studying female woodcock, we are finding that if they attempt to nest and the nest fails, they often will move northward before attempting to nest again. This is likely what happened with SC-2023-26.
10 April, 2023.
This week we had our first check-ins from SC-2023-26, a nesting female recently tagged in South Carolina. LA-2023-26 made a 500km movement north into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, while LA-2023-31, our second year male with 'cold feet' in Iowa, seems to have warmed up, making a large move north into Wisconsin, then directly west into Minnesota.
03 April, 2023.
A couple big movements this week, with LA-2023-23 continuing his northward push, moving 500km north along the St. Lawrence River as of 4/3! We had a surprise check-in from one of our Nova Scotia birds, NS-2022-10, who moved from balmy North Carolina sometime in the last couple of weeks to central Massachusetts as of 3/23, where he remains as of 3/30. We aren't sure how much longer the battery in his transmitter will last, so we are happy to see him check-in at all!
31 March, 2023.
There has been little activity since the check-ins on 3/27, other than a 300km movement northward by LA-2023-25 from northeast Missouri into southern Wisconsin. Stay tuned for more movement reports next week!
27 March, 2023.
Louisiana birds are mostly hanging tight in the same locations as last week, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. One bird remains in Iowa, and LA-2023-23 moved about 900km from southern Indiana into southern Quebec as of 3/25.
20 March, 2023.
More woodcock are on the move! One male Louisiana bird has made it all the way to central Wisconsin, and VT-2022-29 and 31 have moved north to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. All of our check-ins this week are males, which makes sense given they arrive on breeding grounds before females. Our northernmost females most recently checked-in on 3/10 from Missouri and North Carolina.
15 March, 2023.
Only a few new check-ins since the 13th, with all but one bird in a holding pattern. Instead of staying east of Des Moines, Iowa, sometime between the evening of 3/6 and the evening of 3/7, LA-2023-31, a second year male, decided to fly more than 100km southward! As this is his first migration northward, it's possible he's getting cold feet, pushing north so quickly (pun intended).
13 March, 2023.
Timberdoodles from Louisiana, Vermont, Nova Scotia are continuing their northward march, with more than half of our currently tracked birds on the move. We had our first check-in in more than a month from a fall 2022 Nova Scotia bird, NS-2022-07, a now second year male, making his way north from North Carolina into Pennsylvania. Several Louisiana birds have moved as far north as Indiana and Illinois. Check out the interactive mapping tool below for more details!
06 March, 2023.
Our birds are moving north! Almost half of the birds that checked in this week made large (>100km) movements. These birds include LA-2023-17, 23, 26 and 29. We also saw check-ins from a few 2022 tagged birds, NC-2022-40 and VT-2022-33, who both made big moves, and VT-2022-31, who is staying put in his North Carolina wintering grounds.
Two-thirds of these birds are males, but a couple females are also on the move. Spring seems to have sprung in woodcock eyes, despite the recent wintery weather in the Midwest and Northeast. Check back soon for more frequent updates as our birds keep moving!
Winter 2023
27 February, 2023.
Our partners in Louisiana tagged almost 20 birds at the end of January, and already some of them are making northward movements! See LA-2023-25, LA-2023-29, LA-2023-30, and LA-2023-31, all Second Year males, now in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas, respectively. A few previously tagged birds are also moving north - AL-2022-20 is in Kentucky, and VT-2022-34, an After Hatch Year female, is in Missouri.
The rest of the Louisiana birds, and a few more tagged last year in Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Vermont, are stationary in their wintering locations, though we expect them to start moving northward soon!
27 January 2023.
Our birds are on a less frequent upload schedule, so only a few of them have checked in since the last update at the beginning of January. Four birds tagged this fall checked in, with three from Nova Scotia all stationary in North Carolina and one from Quebec stationary in Florida. One bird tagged in North Carolina in February 2022 is stationary approximately 60km from her tagging site.
09 January 2023.
Our Fall 2022 Vermont and Nova Scotia birds continue to be stationary. Since the last update, a few of the birds tagged in January and February 2022 have uploaded additional locations, with the most recent locations taken January 7. We're hoping the GPS batteries will hold out a little bit longer so we can gather more return data!
04 January 2023.
Our Vermont and Nova Scotia birds have been stationary over the holidays. Since the last update, 9 birds tagged during January and February of 2022 have also checked in, with several returning to within a few kilometers of their 2022 wintering grounds, and one (SC-2022-25) only 0.5km away! Other birds' locations ranged from 20km to 65km from their 2022 locations.
Our partners in Louisiana tagged almost 20 birds at the end of January, and already some of them are making northward movements! See LA-2023-25, LA-2023-29, LA-2023-30, and LA-2023-31, all Second Year males, now in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas, respectively. A few previously tagged birds are also moving north - AL-2022-20 is in Kentucky, and VT-2022-34, an After Hatch Year female, is in Missouri.
The rest of the Louisiana birds, and a few more tagged last year in Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Vermont, are stationary in their wintering locations, though we expect them to start moving northward soon!
27 January 2023.
Our birds are on a less frequent upload schedule, so only a few of them have checked in since the last update at the beginning of January. Four birds tagged this fall checked in, with three from Nova Scotia all stationary in North Carolina and one from Quebec stationary in Florida. One bird tagged in North Carolina in February 2022 is stationary approximately 60km from her tagging site.
09 January 2023.
Our Fall 2022 Vermont and Nova Scotia birds continue to be stationary. Since the last update, a few of the birds tagged in January and February 2022 have uploaded additional locations, with the most recent locations taken January 7. We're hoping the GPS batteries will hold out a little bit longer so we can gather more return data!
04 January 2023.
Our Vermont and Nova Scotia birds have been stationary over the holidays. Since the last update, 9 birds tagged during January and February of 2022 have also checked in, with several returning to within a few kilometers of their 2022 wintering grounds, and one (SC-2022-25) only 0.5km away! Other birds' locations ranged from 20km to 65km from their 2022 locations.
