freezing temperatures occurring late in the winter or in 
the early spring. This situation happened in March 1960, 
when an extensive and prolonged period of snow and freezing 
temperatures struck the central and eastern States after 
many woodcock had departed from the wintering ground. 
Without the Singing Ground Survey, the Bureau would not 
have had reasonable evidence that woodcock survived the 
severe weather in March 1960 in sufficient numbers to 
justify as liberal a hunting season in 1960 as was allowed 
in 1959. 
1961 COVERAGE 
During Mareh, April and May of 1961, cooperators 
in 4 eastern Canadian Provinces and 19 eastern and central 
States made singing ground counts on 304 routes. Most of 
the peor were covered on approximately the same dates as 
in 1960 
The analysis of population trends between 1960 
and 1961 was made from data obtained from 223 routes run 
in both years. Tables 3 and 4, however, include all 
information from both years. The 223 comparable routes 
represent an increase of 17 over 1959-60. The number of 
comparable routes in the Eastern Region (east of the _ 
Appalachians) decreased from 166 in 1959-60 to 150 in 
1960-61, although 18 new routes were established. Most 
of the new routes in the Eastern Region were in Nova Scotia, 
The number of comparable routes in the Western Region 
increased from 40 in 1959-60 to 73 in 1960-61. Most of 
the increase occurred in Michigan, where the number of | 
comparable routes more than doubled. Data from comparable 
routes also were available for Minnesota and Wisconsin, 
important woodcock-producing States from which information 
was lacking last year. Singing ground counts were initiated 
in the States of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa; 14 routes were 
run in those States in 1961. An additional 49 new routes 
were covered in other areasof. the Western Region; most of 
them in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. 
