Acoustic Monitoring of Migrating American Woodcocks

Since 2021, we have been monitoring migrating American Woodcocks using our
preserves. These birds migrate through our area in February and March, and the
males perform a fantastic multi-part vocal and flight display at dusk and dawn
that makes them readily detectable.

Until 2024, we relied on volunteers to help us monitor our preserves, and 11
volunteers have encountered 105 birds so far. However, without enough volunteers, our coverage can be inconsistent across sites and seasons.

Additionally, some of our larger preserves (e.g., Willow Lake and Briar Hill) may have multiple sites where birds might display. These sites can be far from parking areas and require hiking in the dark to return to a car – so not the friendliest for volunteers!

For the 2024 season we added a new tool – acoustic monitoring using AudioMoth recorders. These small devices are programmed to record at the proper time of day, and placed in the field to allow for more complete coverage of our area, particularly those that are less accessible by volunteers. Two devices were piloted at Crossways Preserve to help us determine the ability of
the devices to pick up woodcock calls over any background noise from the local roads, and to determine how much area one device can cover for future deployments.

We were successful in monitoring woodcock display calls proving that we could successfully document displays, and confirming that woodcocks were present on many nights that volunteers were not. AudioMoth recorders won’t replace volunteers helping with this project, but they will give us a more complete view of where woodcocks are using our preserves, allowing us to make better management decisions.

In the recording you will hear a series of "peent" calls. These nasal calls are given by the male on the ground at the start of a display cycle. He stands in one place and often turns in a circle while "peenting" to ensure he broadcasts his voice over a broad area. At the end of the "peent" calls you will hear a higher pitch whistling sound that he makes with his wings as he launches himself into the air. The rest of the display is difficult to record, as he circles over the area going higher each time, and this is difficult to capture on our recorders.