American Woodcock - Population Status

Population Status

It is not known how many Woodcock were present in eastern North America before European settlement. Colonial agriculture, with its patchwork of family farms and open-range livestock grazing, probably supported healthy Woodcock populations.

The Woodcock population remained high during the early and mid-twentieth century, after many family farms were abandoned as people moved to urban areas, and cropfields and pastures grew up in brush. In recent decades, those formerly brushy acres have become middle-aged and older forest, where Woodcock rarely venture, or they have been covered with buildings and other human developments. Because its population has been declining, the American Woodcock is considered a "species of greatest conservation need" in many states, triggering research and habitat-creation efforts in an attempt to boost Woodcock populations.

Population trends have been measured through springtime Breeding Bird Surveys and, in the northern breeding range, springtime singing-ground surveys. Data suggest that the Woodcock population has fallen rangewide by an average of 1.1 percent yearly over the last four decades.