This evening, I went out looking for amphibians for a Maine Big Night survey. That part of the evening was a bust. But, Caroline, my companion for the survey, heard a woodcock peenting. My hearing is not the best, so she had to point me in the direction of the sound. Eventually, I heard it myself and was able to record a short snippet before a car passed by.
It is breeding season for woodcocks, and the easiest way to find them is to listen for the "Peent" call while the males are on the ground. At dawn and dusk, males perform their mating display flight where they spiral upward into the sky, and back down again. Caroline actually heard and saw the display flight of a couple of woodcocks this evening. They display in fields and openings in the forest.
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| This is one of a couple of photos that I took when we spied a woodcock in our woods in 2005. |
Woodcocks eat earthworms and other invertebrates that they find in the soil. They will nest on the ground and it is important for the female to be perfectly camouflaged. Their coloration is key to rarely being seen in the forest. Click here to gain more knowledge about the American Woodcock.
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