Fieldwork is afoot!

We launched the field season last Tuesday to very cold temperatures & high winds.  Despite the rough conditions, we had a few birds! So the woodcock are back and clearly courting.  As the week progressed and the temperatures warmed up, activity skyrocketed. On Friday we had 20-30 woodcock!  

For the rest of the month and through April, we'll be out in the field each night recording behavior, mapping out their singing-ground sites (the areas they display from), and banding them. A select few will receive transmitters funded here at experiment.com so we can gather more precise data about how they use the post-industrial landscape. 

 

Here's some of the smaller gear purchased for the season:Peter Pyle's guide to aging & sexing NA birds vol 2, stretch magic (for attaching harnesses), a scale, wing ruler, calipers, portable speakers, headlamps, solar lights, and a spotlight. It's nocturnal work - we need a lot of light at times!

 

Here are 3 of the 5 brave folk who ventured out into the field when it was in the low 30s, winds 30-50mph, into a wetland (which makes it feel even colder) just to find a plump little bogsucker.

 And finally, here's a video I shot tonight while I was waiting for the woodcock to begin displaying.  Quality is on the poor side, but I'll work on that as the season goes on. For live updates, you can follow me at @woodcockwatchNJ or follow our adventures using the hashtag #JerseyDoodles.