Two wildlife biologists in Rhode Island studying how forest-dwelling game birds make use of their habitat found that the birds unexpectedly exhibited what one described as “the bar scene phenomenon” – spending most of their time feeding and resting in one habitat and then “commuting” to a very different habitat to engage in courtship.
University of Rhode Island Professor Scott McWilliams said that the woodcock he and colleague Brian Tefft studied at the Great Swamp Management Area in southern Rhode Island made use of clearings in the forest to perform their courtship flight, but that they then flew to more wooded or swampy areas for the rest of the day.
“The forest cutting that is done on a routine basis to provide habitat for woodcock is clearly important for courting birds, but many of the birds are commuting elsewhere to feed,” McWilliams said. “Maybe the clearings are good for courting, but they don’t provide the earthworm eateries that the birds need for feeding. It appears that we may want to manage the forest in a variety of ways to provide appropriate habitat to satisfy all of the birds’ needs.”
Tefft, a biologist for the state of Rhode Island, has been cutting 10–20 acres of the forest at the Great Swamp about every five years to create habitat for the woodcock and other species of wildlife that prefer early successional forest.
McWilliams, Tefft, and several students have tracked the birds’ use of the cut parcels in each of the last two breeding seasons. They observed woodcock exhibiting their elaborate courtship flight, circling high in the sky and then plummeting to the ground in a series of zigzags, in these forest openings.
“Clearly they need these open, cut areas for courting, because their displays are designed to be seen by potential mates,” said McWilliams. “The open areas are also good for avoiding some predators.”
The new growth that follows the forest clearing also provides an increasingly rare habitat for a wide variety of other declining species, including the New England cottontail, the ruffed grouse, and numerous songbirds such as the golden-winged warbler, eastern towhee, and field sparrow, he added.
The researchers are now expanding the woodcock research project to other locations in Rhode Island and collaborating with biologists in other states in the Northeast to learn how best to manage forests for these species. McWilliams and Tefft are beginning by surveying other lands throughout the region that have been managed in a similar way.
“This will give us a historical perspective so we can understand which forest management practices have been done in the past and which steps have been successful in creating ideal habitat for woodcock,” said McWilliams.
The biologists will then track woodcock year-round to learn more about their breeding success and their health on their wintering grounds in the southeastern U.S. Their results can then be compared with the results from other biologists who are using the same protocol to study the birds elsewhere.