
(stops ) adjacent to suitable woodcock habitat are selected 
along the routes. Stops are at least 0.4 mile apart since 
“peents" can be heard for about 0.2 mile. "Flight songs" 
can be heard for a mich greater distance. Counts of 2- 
minutes' duration are made once at the same stops each year. 
The number of different birds heard "peenting" (and "flight- 
ing," if not heard "peenting") per route is the index of 
abundance for each route. 
Source of data 
During March, April, and May, 1963, cooperators in 20 
eastern and central States and 4 eastern Canadian Provinces 
made counts on 387 routes. Population change from 1962 to 
1963 was determined from counts made on 279 routes covered 
in both years (comparable routes). 
In the Eastern Region, 161 comparable routes were avail- 
able for analysis (an increase of 13 from 1962). For the 
Western Region, 118 comparable routes weré covered (an increase 
of 3). In 1963, Michigan cooperators were asked to record 
numbers of birds heard giving only the "flight song" as well 
as numbers of "peenting" birds, in order to facilitate analysis 
of data obtained from counts made on routes that were randomly 
selected (discussed later in the report). This procedure 
should not have affected comparability of counts with those 
made in other years or in other areas, because cooperators 
in past years were instructed to include "flight songs" if 
such birds were not heard "“peenting." 
In addition to routes covered in both years, 11 new 
routes were run in the Eastern Region and 16 in the Western 
Region in 1963. These routes will strengthen the survey 
since they can be used to compare 1963 populations with 
those of 1964, provided they are covered again next year. 
Method of analysis 
Survey data of previous years have been analysed in two 
ways to yield indexes of woodcock abundance: The number of 
ans 
