Finding a Timberdoodle

During a week off I spent time sleeping and birding. I had briefly seen an American Woodcock at Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn but I really wanted a closer look and a picture if possible. After an hour of looking in an area where I had briefly seen one the week before, I found none. My daughter and I were tired at this point and headed home. However, I was not ready to give up. I later drove back into the cemetery and parked in another area where woodcocks had been sighted. Well, after another hour of checking under every pine and low bush in the area, no Timberdoodle to be found. BUT as I was driving, just a very short distance away I looked over... Could it be a woodcock just sitting under a tree? Sure enough. I used a few headstones as blinds as I moved closer trying not to upset it too much.

"I do see you with my 360 degree vision"

Doesn't it look like a bunny rabbit without the ears?

Actually it's large eyes being so far back on its head has a purpose. It gives the woodcock a 360 degree field of vision.

It's long bill is also interesting. It uses it's bill to probe in the ground for earthworms and other invertebrates. Its made of bone and muscle. In fact the bird can actually open its beak while its in the ground allowing it to grab juicy earthworms to eat. It's rough tongue helps it with this.

Later in the week there was a woodcock walk out at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at dusk. We arrived at their singing grounds, an open grassy area near the edge of brush and woods. We hoped to see the males perform their mating dance. We heard lots of buzzy "preents." and even saw 6-7 males but no dance. Apparently there were too many males and they had not worked out their pecking order so they did not dance.

If you are lucky enough to see their mating dance you would have to be there at dusk or dawn when the male woodcock preents and then takes off into the air making another sound; sounded like radio static. Then is descends in a zig zag pattern making a chirping sound. (which we didn't see).

Looking for woodcocks, timberdoodles or whatever else you want to call them was fun. Another sign that spring is coming slowly and so are the birds.