Overview
Project Name
American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey
Access Level
By Request
Year started
1968
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey
About
Dataset summary
The American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey (SGS) is a long-term road-side survey that began in 1968. The SGS is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in cooperation with the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), 19 state agencies, 6 provincial agencies, and volunteers. Data from the SGS provide natural resource managers with an index of American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) population abundance by taking advantage of the conspicuous breeding call of the male woodcock. When obtaining data via the website, you will have access to count data (total heard peenting) at the stop level for individual states and provinces from 2024-present. Eventually historical count data from 1968-2023 will be uploaded into NatureCounts for public use. Until that time, please contact Rebecca Rau, Rebecca_rau@fws.gov with any historical data requests.
Season(s) and frequency
A subset of routes are surveyed one time each spring on an annual basis.
Geographic area covered
Coverage includes states and provinces that fall within the central and northern portions of the woodcock's breeding range. A visual image of this can be found in Figure 1 within the annual population status report (https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/american-woodcock-population-status-reports).
Primary species covered
American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)
Goals
SGS data have been used to develop population and habitat goals for the American Woodcock Conservation Plan (https://www.fws.gov/media/american-woodcock-conservation-plan) and provide the primary population metrics used for the US Harvest Strategy (https://www.fws.gov/media/interim-american-woodcock-harvest-strategy).
Methods
Sampling Design
Defined frame with random sampling, see the Methods section within the annual status report for more information: https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/american-woodcock-population-status-reports
Field methods
See training documents included in https://naturecounts.ca/nc/amwo/resources.jsp
QA/QC
See training documents included in https://naturecounts.ca/nc/amwo/resources.jsp
Advice
Please refer to the Data Sharing Policy.
Partners
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Pennsylvania Game Commission
United States Geological Survey
United States National Park Service
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department Natural Resources
New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources
New Jersey Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Le Club des bécassiers du Québec
Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service
Manitoba Department of Agriculture and Resource Development
Manitoba Metis Federation
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System
Nova Scotia Lands and Forestry
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Prince Edward Island Environment, Energy and Climate Action
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
USGS Cooperative Research Unit
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Citation
Seamans, M.E., and R.D. Rau., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland.. 2026. "American Woodcock Singing Ground Survey". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada. 10.71842/1wpq-0e27
