AMERICAN WOODCOCK DISPLAYS

This will be an indoor program at FPAC.
Pre-registration required, space is limited
Co-sponsored with Fields Pond Audubon Center

The display of male American woodcock, termed the “Sky Dance” by Aldo Leopold, is one of the first hallmarks of spring when they migrate back to Maine from their wintering grounds in the southeast US.  Field surveys suggest that woodcock have declined over the last half-century. Using new GPS tracking technology, researchers at the University of Maine have been leading efforts across the eastern US and Canada to learn more about woodcock migration, including how well singing ground surveys match the timing of woodcock migration.  Eric Blomberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Wildlife Population Ecology at the University of Maine, will discuss the biology of woodcock breeding and migration, and highlight new findings that have been made possible with GPS tracking technology.  Following Eric’s indoor program, we will move out to the parking lot to observe displaying male woodcock at twilight on the Fields Pond sanctuary.

After the indoor presentation by Eric Blomberg, Ph.D., we will walk out to the parking lot to witness the male woodcock doing their annual spring courtship “sky dances.”  The program is free, but you must pre-register at https://maineaudubon.org/events.