by Laurie Pocher
On Saturday, March 26, the MYBC set out on an early evening search for American Woodcocks. We met at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust to walk some of the trails leading up to dusk when the woodcock flight displays typically begin. A beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk perched in a tree watching over the fields, and a Great Blue Heron flew overhead when we first arrived.
We didn’t see many birds on the trails, but it was good opportunity to practice ‘birding by ear.’ Among the birds we heard but didn’t see were Wild Turkeys, White-Throated Sparrows, Tufted Titmice, American Crows, and Mourning Doves. We also heard the very distinctive ‘bark’ of a Common Raven, the rolling chattering call of a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, and the repeating nasal call of a White-Breasted Nuthatch.
We were treated to good looks at American Robins, Black-Capped Chickadees, House Finches and a Northern Cardinal. And during our brief dinner break, we watched as Wood Ducks, Herring Gulls, Canada Geese and Mallards all flew overhead.
We came across an interesting animal track on a muddy stream bank, with four very deep claw marks. We had a couple of educated guesses as to what it might be, including coyote, fisher, fox or bear. Later that evening, when we were getting ready to leave, we heard the unmistakable cry of a fox coming from that area, confirming that at least one of the likely culprits was still in the area.
The Main Event. It was a pretty cloudy evening, and with only a sliver of a moon, darkness fell quickly after the sun set. We gathered under cover of some trees and waited quietly for the Timberdoodle show to start. We didn’t have to wait long before we heard the telltale ‘peent’ call of an American Woodcock at the edge of the field. Most of us held our breath waiting for him to call again… which he did. Each call sounded like it was getting closer and closer to us, but we couldn’t see him on the ground because of his fantastic camoflauge.
Finally, after several long minutes, the courtship display began and we were witness to several flights. He started out by flying in wide circles, gaining altitude and making smaller circles as he climbed. All we could hear during the circular climb was the flapping and whistling of his wings. While he was climbing, we ran as a group to the center of the field and all crouched down low together, hoping he would land nearby. When he reached the highest point, he made a high-pitched twittering call and then dove straight back down, landing across the field from where he started, less than 50 yards away from us! We all got great looks at the American Woodcock, where he stayed on the ground feeding and giving more ‘peent’ calls for a few minutes before launching into another aerial display.
Once again, we moved as a group while he was climbing, and were rewarded with even closer looks when he landed the second time. By this time it was getting pretty dark, so it wasn’t as easy to see him. But we could hear his ‘peents’ and watched his silhouette climb as he launched into his third courtship flight. This time he buzzed right over our heads as he dove, but landed out of sight behind some shrubs. We could still hear him, but couldn’t see him, so we spent about an hour owling and exploring the Emmons Preserve labyrinth.
All tolled, we got to see one American Woodcock perform three courtship displays, and heard at least three other woodcocks calling nearby. You can see our full eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/me/checklist/S106625272
We just posted details about the April outing to Florida Lake Park. We hope you can join us. Until then, happy birding!
