NY Times on Woodcock and the snow storm

If they found 55 dazed or injured birds in NYC, I would expect the mortality in some areas with heavy snow fall was significant.
 
When I was teaching across the river in Newark, my students used to bring me a woodcock or two every spring that they'd find on the school grounds.
 
Jeff~

Interesting documentation of the rigors of migration and weather a potentially significant mortality factors.

All the best,

SJS
 
Reminds me of the devastating effect the winters of '76 -'77 and '77-'78 had on bobwhite quail here in Ohio. It was estimated that those conditions wiped out over 90% of the bobwhite population.

The ODNR closed the quail season in the fall of '78 and it didn't re-open 'til the fall of 1984 (and then on a restricted basis). Coupled with the effects of today's farming practices, etc., our bobwhite population has never rebounded. While it used to be the rule that one would hear quail calling all the time (I can remember that here would be 2 or 3 coveys on the property I regularly trained my dogs at back in the mid- 70's as well as there always being a covey in an old farm lot right across from our house), it's rare to even hear quail now days.
 
Bob,We bought our farm in southern ohio in 1972, there were 3 coveys of quail on the place. winters of 77'-78' wiped them out. In 2010 we planted 12 acres of warm season grasses, fall of 2011 i jumped the first covey since 1978. They are making a slow recovery but the landscape has changed. Gone are the small family farms with garden plots and small corn acreage replaced with housing,manicured lawns and kentucky 31 fescue . I baby the few birds we have with feeders when the ground is snow covered, their biggest enemy is hawks which are protected.
Part of the farm lays damp and attracts quite a few woodcock, i assume they are breeding there they can be seen and heard almost any spring evening.
 
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