The only indicators we have are the singing ground survey and the wing collection survey, and they're just not enough. Each spring, throughout woodcock breeding range, participants in the singing ground survey drive a designated route through woodcock habitat, stopping at established intervals to listen for the peeenting vocalization of male woodcock. The wing collection survey offers more clues. Important as this information may be, it provides only a diagnosis, no solutions. They don't tell us why.
Most researchers agree habitat loss is among the most important factors.
Woodcock thrive in young aspen forests, a fact proven in a decade-long study by Northern Michigan University's Bill Robinson. We visited the plot several times before it was clear-cut and rarely flushed a woodcock. In the eight years following the cutting, we recorded a 30-fold increase. It was very dramatic. Young aspen stands provide good nesting habitat and the dense cover acts as a shield against predators like goshawks.