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US Fish & Wildlife Service
American Woodcock Singing-ground Survey

Frequently Asked Questions
 

 

Where do I send my original survey form?

1)  For your records, keep a copy of the survey form. Your state or province coordinator gives specific instructions on how to send in your survey form. Please do as instructed. Additional guidance is below. Choose from one of the options below:

Woodcock Survey
US Fish & Wildlife Service
11510 American Holly Drive-Merriam Bldg.
Laurel, MD 20708

2)  Please also send a copy to your state or province coordinator.

Do I still have to send in my survey form, even though I entered data through the Internet?

Yes.  The USFWS requires that all survey forms be scanned then (uploaded or emailed), faxed, or mailed in as soon as the survey is completed.  This is required in case there is a question or concern with the data sent in through the Internet.

When is the last day I can enter my data through the Internet?

The last day of the entire survey season for all states/provinces is May 20th.  This website will receive data up until the 21st of May, however your survey data should be entered and survey field forms should be submitted to Laurel, MD no later than the day following your state/province’s survey date window. See the survey instructions to determine survey dates in your area. If you want to enter data any later than that, please contact the Webless Survey Coordinator and inform us your data will be late, otherwise it may not be included in this year's analysis.

I am a second observer for the same route, can I enter my data through the Internet?

Yes, the USFWS has created the option of allowing a second observer to enter his/her results.  If 1 of 2 observers has already entered their route data, perform the following steps to get to the data entry page.

  1. After submitting the state/province code, county code, & route number on the route selection screen, a summary report should appear which contains the other observer's results. 
  2. Click on the link near the top of the page that is contained within the following sentence:  If you are 1 of 2 observers for this route and need to enter data, please click on Second Observer Data Entry Option.
  3. You will be directed to a data entry screen where you can enter your results. 
  4. Once you enter your results & hit the submit button, you will receive another summary report page that shows not only your results, but also the other observer's results. 
  5. Please keep a copy of the survey form and send a copy to your state/provincial coordinators and the original to:

Woodcock Survey
US Fish & Wildlife Service
11510 American Holly Drive-Merriam Bldg.
 Laurel, MD 20708

I need help filling out the data entry form.  Where can I go?

This website has a webpage strictly dedicated to helping you with data entry.  Please see the HELP link on the data entry page.

Where can I go to view/print the results of the singing-ground survey?

The report is available for viewing and download every mid-August at https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/american-woodcock-population-status-reports.

You can also query and download SGS route level data (1968-2015) at the Division of Migratory Bird Management's Migratory Bird Data Center website, https://migbirdapps.fws.gov/.  Results from 2016-present can be requested directly from the WeblessSurveyCoordinator@fws.gov.

I am about to begin my data entry and reached the routeselection.asp page.  I enter my state/province, county code, and route number.  I hit submit and red text appears above the state/province text box that says, "Invalid Route Selection ## - ### - ###.

Otherwise this means that the selected combination of state/province, county code and route # could not be found in our database.  Please double check to make sure you entered the correct information.  This information can be found on the upper right hand corner of your survey form.  If you are positive that you did, please contact the Webmaster, USFWS, Division of Migratory Bird Management, (301) 497-5862.

I am about to begin my data entry and reached the routeselection.asp page.  I enter my state/province, county code, and route number.  I hit submit and I get directed back to the login page.

The most common cause of this cycle appearing is you have not enabled the browser to accept cookies.  Please make sure this is completed and login again.  If you are still experiencing a "loop" effect, make sure your Internet browser security setting is set to medium.  Also, if you deleted your temporary internet files after you have logged in, you deleted the cookies that enable this program to work.  Shut down the browser, open it back up and login again. 

I am about to begin my data entry and reached the dataentryform.asp, dataentry2obsrvr.asp, or gpscoordform.asp pages.  I enter my data for a particular survey route and hit the submit button.  I am then directed back to the login screen.  What just happened?  Did my data go through?

This means that the system "timed out" on you.  If you walked away from your computer,  was on a phone call, or the website was not "active" on your computer screen, the system times out after 20 minutes.  This is set by default and is advised for security reasons.  So, most likely from the time you logged into the website and when you hit the submit button on the data entry page, 20 minutes time had passed.  Your data did not get entered into the database.  You must login again, https://migbirdapps.fws.gov/woodcock/, then proceed accordingly.  You will know when your data has been entered when you receive a summary page of your data after you hit the "Submit to USFWS" button on the data entry page.

I am about to begin my data entry and reached the routeselection.asp page.  I enter my state/province, county code, and route number.  I hit submit and a summary report appears.  What does that mean?

This means that the route you are trying to enter data for has already been entered for that particular survey year.  It is giving you the summary information of that route.  If you still have questions regarding the route information, contact the Webless Survey Coordinator, USFWS, Division of Migratory Bird Management.  If you are a double observer for the route, please see the FAQ section on double observers.

When filling out the data entry form, Section 2, the "Last Name" field says 'CZ Route.'  What do I do?

The last name field gets pre-filled with the last known observer for that particular route.  In this case, the route was not run last year, but instead was of CZ status.  A constant zero route.  Type your last name in place of 'CZ Route.'

When I hit the submit button after I enter all my data on the gps form, a pop up error appears on the screen asking me to enter at least 2 characters, only digit characters, or a valid number in a certain field.

This means that you did not enter a correct value in the indicated textbox. Please follow the format example that is shown directly under the column headers, Latitude & Longitude, on the gps data entry form. Make sure the negative sign is in front of each longitudinal coordinate and the coordinates have at least a format of ##.#

Latitude example: 32.65874
Longitude example: -76.25897

When I hit the submit button after I enter all my data on the form, I get a different error than above or my summary page does not come up.

First, hit the back button in the upper left hand corner of your task bar and hit the submit button again.  If you still get an error, see below.

Did you fill out the form in its entirety?  Please read over the help section to see which fields are required.  You should get a prompt telling you which fields you must fill out before you can submit your data.

Did you remember to log in as a valid user at the beginning of your sitting?  If not, the system will not let you enter your route data over the Internet.  You can't bookmark the route selection or data entry form webpages and expect to submit your data.  You must be logged in.  Go to https://migbirdapps.fws.gov/woodcock/ and start over.

Did your internet disconnect?  Reconnect if that is the case and hit submit again.

Did you read the following directions above the data entry form to see if your browser is compatible with our program, accepts cookies or JavaScript is enabled?  If not, please see those links on the data entry form.

Did you already enter other route data in the same sitting?  Once you received a summary page, did you hit the back button and start entering data for the new route?  If so, you were instructed not to hit the back button, but hit the button labeled 'Enter New Route or GPS Data.'  If you notice our program stores/pre-fills the route data (survey year, state/province, county code, route number and route location) into the form.  Hitting the back button after entering a route to enter another route will not erase this data, but keep it.  So when you go to hit the submit button again, an error is produced thinking you are trying to enter the same route twice.  To resolve this issue, go back to the homepage and click the link labeled 'Enter SGS Route or GPS Data.'  From there, enter the new form information.

This may not be a desirable option, but hitting the Refresh button on your task bar and entering your data again may do the trick. 

Contact your computer support group to see if they can pinpoint the problem.

As a last resort, contact the Webmaster with the USFWS, Migratory Bird Management Division at (301) 497-5862.  Please leave a detailed description of the error that occurred.  If possible, take a screenshot or copy and paste the error to your email and send it to her.  Any piece of information given can help us solve the problem.

I submitted my data, received my summary page, and noticed a data entry error.  What do I do?

You are not able to correct the error yourself.  You must contact the Webless Survey Coordinator with the USFWS, Migratory Bird Management Division.  Please give a full description of the error and what the correction should be.  Please do not let data entry errors go unresolved. 

When I ran my route, I was not able to complete one or more stops.  The form will not let me leave the stops blank.

If this is the case, contact the Webless Survey Coordinator with the USFWS, Migratory Bird Management Division immediately and let her know which stops were not able to be completed and why.  Please leave a phone number or valid email address so we can contact you.  Because of the complexity, we will discuss what must be done when we contact you.

How do I clear my cache?

The cache is used to keep local copies of frequently accessed documents or webpages and thus reduce time connected to the network.  The reload or refresh button will always compare the cache document to the network and show the most recent one. A Google search for 'clear browsing data' or 'clear cache' and typing in the browser name should assist you.

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Last Updated:      Please direct website questions/comments/survey related inquiries to WeblessSurveyCoordinator@fws.gov, USFWS, Division of Migratory Bird Management.