Bird of the Month: American Woodcock
American Woodcock. Photo by Colin Dobson.
By Roger Digges, CCAS Vice-President
I found it difficult to choose a bird of the month for March because so many are moving into or through our area as we enter spring. Red-winged Blackbirds have begun claiming territory at Meadowbrook as I write this on Valentine’s Day, but I made them bird of the month last March. Growing numbers of Killdeer are already calling their loud, high-pitched “kill-deer, kill-deer.” Eastern Phoebes, members of the flycatcher family, are beginning to trickle in as March begins. Soon Tree Swallows, those striking aerial acrobats, will be contesting ownership of nest boxes and tree cavities in local parks and preserves and a few fortunate backyards. But there is only one March arrival I am willing to get up early for and brave blustery March dawns, or stand in the cold in the fading light of dusk.
How can I describe the American Woodcock? Although technically a shorebird, you won’t find a woodcock anywhere near a shoreline. Instead, they tend to occupy younger forests where they are so well camouflaged as they search for worms in the leaf litter that you may not see them at all. In the daytime, that is. But when the sun goes down, this odd-looking bird with the plump body, long beak, its comic back and forth walk, and eyes on top of its head, undergoes an extraordinary transformation. It dances. In the sky. Or at least the male does. Females watch from some hidden spot and rate his performance, to see if he would be a good enough mate.
Males find an open area near the woods where they forage. From their chosen spot, they issue a nasal “peeent!” to any listening female, turning toward a different direction after each call so that no potential mate is left out. Then he leaps into the air, flying in an ascending spiral until he reaches anywhere from 200 to 350 feet above the ground, his wings beginning to make a twittering sound as he rises. Once he reaches the height of his display, he descends in a series of zig-zag flights, uttering high pitched chirps on the way down. He lands where he took off and begins the entire process again and again until the sky becomes too dark (or, if he’s displaying in the dim light of early dawn, too bright, which invites aerial predators to make a meal of him). Some males will display at several dance sites and mate with multiple females. Females may also visit multiple locations where males are sky dancing. Once they mate, the female is on her own. He will forage for himself alone and continue to dance. She will lay and incubate one to five eggs in a shallow depression in leaf litter.
When and where can you observe these sky dancing shorebirds? March is the best time to see these birds, although they put on another show in October.
The best way to start is to go on an evening woodcock walk with Urbana Park District or Champaign County Forest Preserves staff. They know the best places to go and the best way to observe this unique display. You can go back to those sites on your own, although make sure that’s all right.
CCAS is also hosting a field trip to view loons and American Woodcocks on March 16.
How are American Woodcocks doing? Unfortunately, woodcock numbers are declining, perhaps due to habitat loss or ingesting pesticides in their diet of earthworms. Partners in Flight estimate that there are 3.5 million birds still, but we need to preserve woodcock habitat and health.