American Woodcock
“I have often wondered whether nocturnal predators like owls take advantage of the sudden influx of American Woodcocks across Cape every spring.”
Through the year
Columns that mention it, by the month they were published.
Year by year
Columns that mention it each year.
In his words
Ten of the 26 passages, oldest first.
Very early arriving - February 22nd - American Woodcocks were displaying deep within the Gull Crest Marsh.
On September 13 I flushed two Woodcocks.
A last little side point: I am hearing more American woodcocks in Cape this spring than I have heard in the last three.
I flushed at least seven woodcocks around “Little Great Pond” and watched the shadowy outline of three first of season (“FOS”) Great Blue herons gracefully flying over the pond before darkness set in.
On May 24 along the Spurwink trail abutting the Spurwink river the American Woodcock display was wondrous.
On September 20 I flushed two Woodcocks.
A few noteworthy observations from the first two weeks of March include a single Golden-crowned Kinglet spied within the tangles just above the intertidal zone along Pond Cove on March 5 (birders designate this as first of year “FOY”) and an American Woodcock was heard in the marshlands behind the high school on March…
On June 2 around dusk I heard what I thought was the buzzy peent call of a American Woodcock approaching overhead; turned out to be a Common Nighthawk.
On two occasions I was startled by woodcocks flying from their shadowy hiding places.
On July 27 I crossed paths with four American Woodcocks along Charles E Jordan Road - old fields provide superb roosting habitat for these birds up until its time to migrate south.
Show all 26 passages
On the evening of October 9 I heard two Great-horned Owls calling to each other along Shore Road and on October 11 while biking in Gull Crest I practically ran over a Woodcock who did not seem the least bit concerned with my presence.
On the last day of February in the two prior years Cape had already started to see Common Grackles announcing their arrival with croak-like whistles and iridescent bluish hoods and Woodcocks were sounding off deep within the Gull Crest Marsh.
As for notes from the field, on the afternoon of April 8 along the wetland edges of the GreenBelt and CELT Spurwink trails I counted sixteen American Woodcock sounding off.
Later in the afternoon on October 5 I flushed a woodcock from a boggy area on our property and counted five singing Blue-headed Vireos.
A note on Woodcocks: On March 16 I flushed two birds in an RP-2 bog in my backyard.
By the second week of April, early nesters like Killdeers and Woodcocks may already have paired off and established nests.
I have often wondered whether nocturnal predators like owls take advantage of the sudden influx of American Woodcocks across Cape every spring.
Coincidently woodcocks sounded off in the distance.
Other notes from my field journal include on June 29 before sunset along the margins of the field in Robinson Woods III, a Great-horned Owl was spotted being scolded by two Great-crested Flycatchers and on June 30 along the woodland paths in Gull Crest two fledgling American Woodcocks were testing their wings.
Additionally, on September 10 I recorded seeing a single Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Swamp Sparrow and American Redstart along the Great Pond Boardwalk and on the same day three Black-and-White Warblers, a single American Woodcock and singing Common Yellowthroat along Gull Crest.
On November 8 I flushed a lingering American Woodcock in Gull Crest and on November 12 my son and I watched a Great Blue Heron along Sawyer Road hunting in the grass and later spotted sixteen American Coots and three wild Mute Swans on Grondin Pond in Scarborough.
A few additional notes from the field include, on Thanksgiving around dusk on Two Lights Road a Woodcock flew right over my mothers-in-law’s head and on December 9 along the Gull Crest Trails I came across a small flock of seed foraging American Tree Sparrows.
A few notes from the field and yard include: on March 11 as the sun began to set three northbound Turkey Vultures circled high above the high school while several American Woodcocks sounded off within the fringes of the nearby marshland.
When compared to an American Woodcock, snipes have longer necks and legs and a white belly, not cinnamon.
On the last day of February in the three prior years Cape had already started to see Common Grackles announcing their arrival with croak-like whistles and iridescent bluish hoods and Woodcocks were sounding off deep within the Gull Crest Marsh.
On June 4 around dusk in my yard I heard what I thought was the buzzy peent call of a American Woodcock approaching overhead – turned out to be a Common Nighthawk.