American Woodcock

Also Known As- The Timberdoodle, Whistling Snipe and Pewee

The woodcock, a small migratory bird with a buff-brown head, a breast and belly colored buff to pale cinnamon. The bird travels from breeding grounds across mid-Canada to its wintering grounds in the central United States. This upland bird with a black nape, crossed by pale lines, dark eye line and a stripe by its ears gradually work their way south as the ground freezes along its migration route. The woodcock, a bird of the alder trees displays a gray-brown back, with reddish-brown upper wings, rusty rump and laced with rusty wing linings. Woodcock are rarely sighted, and when they are, they are usually identified only as "what was that?" A name taken from a person new to hiking who has come too close and flushed a Woodcock, jumped, felt his heart in his mouth and yelled, "what was that?"

The Woodcock, stands about 8 1/4 tall, difficult to find because of their blending coloration, small size, and preference for areas with dense vegetation. This dumpy, short-legged, short-tailed, rounded-winged shorebird that wobble like tiny Gooney Bird noisily takes off when flushed and their wings make twittering sound in flight. The Woodcock is a very common resident from March to October in the northern half of the USA and it is difficult to tell the difference between the sexes or large immature birds because they all are marked similarly.

Woodcock eat mainly earthworms and some birds will eat some seeds. Earthworms are their number one meal and Woodcock are not likely to adapt to other meals even if forced by nature. Woodcocks will seek out other climates or starve rather that change diet.

This upland bird has a very long bill and very large, dark eye set high in head. Birders find woodcock in marshy, low-lying areas, along water courses, woodlands and shrubby fields where the ground is rich in nutrients and full of earthworms. Thus, you find Woodcock in a variety of places, including residential areas. Habitat management for woodcock can be similar to that for grouse but the ground used is often lower and can be next to a marsh in the long grass. You will find Woodcock populations in all wooded areas but, best in young aspen stands and alder creek bottoms.

Autumn in the uplands brings two phenomenons in the woodcock's life patterns. This is also when these birds will perform some rather unusual and sometimes lethal actions, like flying into or through plate glass windows or impaling themselves on broken branches. Native Americans called this "crazy flight" and were correct in their observations.

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