One of the least conspicuous birds in the eastern U.S., the American woodcock is a chunky "sandpiper" with short legs, large eyes and a long bill. Though often grouped with shorebirds, the woodcock and its cousin, the common snipe, are inland birds that favor moist woodlands, bottomland meadows and streamside thickets. There the woodcock hunts at night for earthworms, grubs and a variety of insects; it is seldom seen by the casual naturalist.
This locally common but reclusive bird winters across the south-eastern U.S. but summers as far north as southern Canada. Hardy, they arrive on the breeding grounds by late winter and it is then (mid February to mid March) that birders have a chance to observe the aerial displays of the adult male. After spiraling into the air and then circling above a marshy field, he plummets toward the ground in a zigzag pattern, wings whistling; those hoping to observe this rite, which usually begins at dusk, should seek out meadows near riparian woodlands and listen for the sharp "peents" of the male suitors.
Woodcocks nest on the ground, usually beneath shrubs or thickets. Both parents share the incubation and child rearing duties and their young are independent within a month. Until autumn, they will doze in dense cover during the day, arousing at dusk to hunt their favorite quarry. When accidentally flushed by hikers or dogs, they explode into the air (in the manner of quail) and zigzag into the deeper woods. Good luck catching one on film!
