Birdwatch By Susan Campbell

Love, American Woodcock Style

T h ere’s h ope for th e pu dg y an d sh or t -l eg ged

By susa n Ca M PBel l February is the month for love and, for the American woodcock, this is certainly the case! By mid-month this pudgy, short-legged, long-billed bird of forest and field is in full courtship mode. However, most folks have no clue since their unique singing and dancing occurs completely under the cover of darkness.

A mer ican woodcock s, a lso ca lled “timberdoodles,” are cousins of the long-legged shorebirds t y pica lly found at the beach. Like plovers, t ur nstones, dow itchers and other sandpipers, these birds have highly adapted bills and cr y ptic plumage. Woodcock s, hav ing no need to wade, spor t shor t legs that they use to slowly scuf fle a long as they forage in moist woods and shr ubby fields. T his behav ior is thought to star tle wor ms and other sof t-bodied inver tebrates in the leaf lit ter and/or just below the soil sur face. T heir long, sensitive bills are per fect for probing and/or g rabbing food items. A nd camouflaged plumage hides woodcock s f rom a ll but the most discer ning eye.

Speak ing of eyes, A mer ican woodcock s have eyes that are large and ver y uniquely ar ranged on their heads. T hey are ver y high up and far back, a llow ing them to see both potentia l predators above as well as food items in f ront and below them.

Beg inning in late w inter, ma le A mer ican woodcock s find open areas adjacent to wet, wooded feeding habitat and beg in to display at dusk. T hey a lter nately do their thing on the g round and then in the air. A ma le beg ins by wa lk ing around in the open area ut ter ing repeated loud “peeent” ca lls. He w ill then take of f and fly in circles high into the sk y, t w it ter ing as he goes. Fina lly, the ma le w ill t ur n and drop shar ply back to the g round in zigzag fashion, chir ping as he goes, and then beg in another round of voca lizations.

In the Piedmont and Sandhills of Nor th Carolina, display ing beg ins on ca lm nights in December. Some of these ma les are most likely Nor ther n birds that have made the jour ney to the Southeast for the colder weather. T hey may just be practicing a head of their rea l ef for t — in early spr ing back up Nor th. R egardless, fema les v isit multiple spots where ma les are k now n to do their thing before they choose a mate. So, it behooves the ma les to display as of ten as possible to impress as many fema les as possible dur ing the week s that they are on the hunt for a mate.

A lthough long hunted for spor t, it was A ldo L eopold, the renow ned conser vationist, who implored spor tsmen to bet ter appreciate these lit tle birds. T hey are well adapted for a forest floor existence, hidden f rom a ll but their mates come this time of the year. A nd, on rare occasions, f rom birdwatchers keen on get ting a glimpse of the A mer ican woodcock ’s antics. PS

Susan Campbell would love to receive your wildlife sightings and photos. She can be contacted at susan@ncaves.com.