American Woodcock
Wednesday, March 17th, 2004
We saw this bird pecking the snow under our feeder and at first thought it was the back side of a mourning dove but when he pulled his long beak out of the snow we knew we’d never seen anything like him before. He was oblivious to us so I shot as many pictures as I could but he was moving up and down like a dance. Looked him up in Stokes Field Guide to Birds and lo and behold, American Woodcock. This is the only time we’ve seen him although he might live around here and just not come close enough for us to spot him.
If he’s back tomorrow I’ll work on a better shot.
American Woodcock are considered gamebirds and use early successional habitat for nesting and feeding in Connecticut. Seedling and sapling size forest stands are their primary habitat and earthworms are their preferred foods along with other insect larvae and occasionally seeds. Connecticut’s forestland comprises only 5.5 percent or seedling/sapling sized habitat today. In contrast to about 32 percent seedling /sapling sized forest of the early 1970′s (USDA Forest Statistics). American woodcock is a fascinating bird that is a challenge for hunters in the fall hunting season. Seeing and witnessing their spring breeding behavior with the spiraling skyward flight (AKA “SKY DANCE”) and the nasal peenting noise they emit is a treat for anyone interested in learning about this interesting creature.
Peter Picone
DEP Wildlife Biologist
Wow Peter, thanks. We’ve not seen this bird again since last year but maybe this spring. Thanks for the info on the woodcock, I have better photo equipment now and will see if I can get a better picture.
Next week the wood ducks are supposed to land on our pond but it’s still frozen solid. Let’s see if a few warm days thaw things out for a nice, smooth landing.
During my spring/summers with the USFS and AMC in northern New England we always called them “Timberdoodles”!
Why? Do they make a “doodle-do” noise? The one pictured above was so intent to peck at worms or seeds or something under the snow that all we heard was him grunting (I think).