WINTERING WOODCOCK FOPULATIONS IN WEST-CENTRAL LOUISIANA, 1951-1952 
Vincent H. Reid and Phil Goodrum 
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Woodcock inventory work was carried on in the longleaf pine belt 
of west-central Louisiana from November, 1951 through February, 1952. 
The work was done chiefly in Vernon, Natchitoches and Rapides Parishes 
(Fig. 1}. Two days in January were spent investigating woodcock coverts 
in and adjacent to the Atchafalaya River bottoms in St. Landry Parish, 
Louisiana. 
Inventory Data 
Method.--As in previous years, the woodcock inventory was done in 
conjunetion with bobwhite quail investigations. Bird dogs were used in 
the work. A record was kept of the number of woodcock points made by 
the dogs and the time spent afield. | 
Results.--The 1951-52 woodcock inventory figures are summarized 
on a weekly basis in Table 1. A record of woodcock points was obtained 
for 273 hours in the field with dogs; 125 wodcock points were made. 
The dogs averaged one woodcock point for about every two hours in the 
field. 
Table 2 summarizes the inventory data for the winters 199-50, 
1950-51 and 1951-52. In the winters 199-50 and 1950-51, the dogs aver- 
aged a woodcock point for about every hour spent in the field. In 1951- 
52 the dogs averaged a point for about every two hours. Thus, the 
figures show fewer woodcock wintering in the longleaf pine area of west 
central Louisiana in 1951-52 than wintered in the area in the tw previous 
years. 
Even though the figures indicate less woodcock in this region during 
the winter 1951-52, it is not believed that this necessarily teflects an 
over-all decreased woodcock population.* Because precipitation was below 
#% In Lit. Leslie L. Glasgow says: "I received many reports of a 
scarcity of woodcock in the pine sections of S. W. Louisiana last winter 
L1951-1952]. At the time these reports were being received we had heavy 
concentrations of wodcock in the surrounding parishes. These concentra- 
tions were higher than any I have observed in other years. I am convinced 
that woodcock must vacate large sections of the state where dry conditions 
prevail and mve to areas where moist conditions exist." 
