It might surprise readers to learn that I know what birds taste like. I must say, ruffed grouse is better than chicken. However, I am unfamiliar with the flavor of woodcock. I’ve been advised by some that it makes a great pate, akin to goose liver. I’ve been advised by others that it tastes like earthworms. From personal experience, I can attest that anything is edible if surrounded by enough bacon.
The American woodcock is a game bird in autumn, but it is an entertainment spectacle in spring, renowned for its sky dance.
It goes something like this: Woodcocks arrive early, usually in mid-March. They don’t have far to migrate. They are surprisingly hardy, and New Jersey is a suitable wintering ground. Once back in Maine, they forage by day in the muddy edges of melting snow. By night, they wait. Finally, on the first quiet, windless evening in late March, it begins.
Peent.
Each male woodcock establishes his favorite spot and tries to entice females by making the loudest, most nasal sound he can manage.
Peent.
This goes on every 10 seconds for about a minute. Then, suddenly, he takes to the air, flying higher and higher, in bigger and bigger circles, making a twittering whistle noise with his wings that surely must impress the ladies. After circling for a minute or so, he returns to earth, finishing his performance with a series of descending chirps more emphatic than the notes he twittered high above. He settles back into the exact same spot and begins again.
Peent.
This can go on all night. The ritual starts at sunset and ends at sunup. The woodcocks fly hundreds of feet high during this mating dance. On a night when twilight lingers, the birds can be watched while they circle. They are tiny black dots against the gathering darkness, and they always seem to be ahead of where the twittering sounds seem to be coming from. Fortunately, when they return to earth, they can fly right by the heads of spectators as they zoom back to their display area. And it begins again.
Peent.
Woodcocks are so cryptically colored that they are virtually invisible on the ground. You might not even know they are around. But if your neighborhood has fields with wooded edges, you might be surprised to hear them at dusk, now that you know what you’re listening for.
Peent.
This nightly exertion lasts for two months. Male woodcocks continue to display long after females have laid eggs, just in case there is a nest failure and a willing female. By the end, they are completely exhausted. But there are rewards for the best sky dancers. Successful males may mate with multiple females, and they play no role in raising the chicks. It’s a simple life, really. By day, they eat earthworms. By night, they vocalize.
Peent.
Sometimes, a woodcock wanders into the open or crosses a road. Their walking style is as funny as their mating behavior. It’s two steps forward, one step back, rocking with every motion. It’s the avian version of doing the Hokey Pokey. It’s hard to imagine why they walk this way, but experts speculate the heavy-footed motion spooks earthworms, encouraging motion that reveals their presence. The woodcock feeds by probing with a long bill that has a flexible tip. It can reach inches deep into soil and latch on. The impressive bill also allows it to do one other thing well.
Peent.
If you’re a bird that spends your life looking down or strutting in the darkness while announcing your presence, you better have eyes on the back of your head. The eyes of a woodcock are so far back on its head that it can see trouble coming from above even while probing for earthworms below.
Woodcocks are eastern birds. There are few west of the Mississippi. They are game birds, historically so popular that when their numbers declined from habitat loss, Congress leapt into action. (Remember when Congress used to leap into action?) Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is one of the nation’s earliest refuges, and it was created to conserve and improve game bird habitat, especially for woodcock. Tour through its divisions in Baring and Edmund, and you’ll see lots of clearings along forest edges to provide woodcock breeding areas.
It’s that time of year. The sky dances have begun. Get out and witness a natural spectacle. You know what to listen for.
Peent.
Bob Duchesne serves as vice president of Maine Audubon’s Penobscot Valley Chapter. He developed the Maine Birding Trail, with information at mainebirdingtrail.com. He can be reached at duchesne@midmaine.com.