On the Spatial Distribution of Eurasian Woodcocks under Different Weather Conditions during the Period of High Roding Activity in European Russia

Abstract

The material for the study was obtained from report forms collected in the course of national census of Eurasian Woodcock during the evening roding period in 2016 (2001 forms) and 2017 (2538 forms). The numbers of reported contacts with roding birds reached 14242 and 17 024, respectively. For the first time, a geostatistical kriging method was applied to this large amount of material to describe the spatial distribution of woodcock population in different years. Plots with high roding intensity and the largest numbers of recorded contacts (on average, more than nine) were identified, and weather conditions in these plots were estimated from satellite monitoring data. The 2 to 9°C isotherms were determined, which spread dynamically and unevenly over the territory of European Russia in 2016 and 2017 and had an effect on the redistribution of the birds. The significance of correlation between the distribution of Eurasian Woodcock population and weather conditions was confirmed statistically.