I saw my first woodcock of the year yesterday; in fact, I almost killed him. (Sex assumed.) The little fellow was crossing Naskeag Road and I didn’t see him until the last second. I slammed on the brakes, and he kept doing that slow, head-slinging woodcock shuffle until he disappeared into the woods on the other side.
Officially, these birds are named American woodcocks (Scolopax minor), but their shape and activities have caused them to be known also as timberdoodles, mudsnipes, and bogsuckers.
Nonetheless, the woodcock’s physique is functional. The overly-long beak is an earthworm probe; the small head and large eyes allow sight all around when feeding and aid in nocturnal flights, and the plump, stubby body makes the bird almost impossible to see when it squats in dusky ground cover.
At dusk and sometimes dawn, the males court by doing a bizarre “sky dance.” They ascend in fast concentric circles while making buzzing, cicada-like sounds, reaching heights of hundreds of feet; Then, they make fast, helicoptic descents to their female fans who have come to watch the show and find a mate. (Leighton Archive image taken in Brooklin, Maine.)