Tracking Tips: American Woodcock

A woodcock hen will create her shallow nest as early as March, most often near the “singing grounds” where she mated. Four camouflaged eggs are a lovely blend of pinkish tan, cinnamon, pale yellow, brown, and gray. In open hardwood nesting habitats, the eggs mimic the mottled colors of last year’s leaf litter. Photos by Susan C. Morse

Paul, my German shepherd, saw her before I did. He pointed, and I followed his gaze to a hen woodcock conspicuously flapping on the ground. She was feigning injury and no doubt trying to lure us away from the area where we had accidentally flushed her. I implored Paul to “sit” and remain with my backpack while I crept forward and hid among the alders. Mother came back within minutes and softly called to her fledglings – three camouflaged chicks that I never would have seen had they not moved. Against a background of dark earth, pale leaves, and dappled sunlight, their concealment was perfect. Meanwhile, my would-be bird dog companion was also perfect. With cocked head and quizzical expression, he watched my activities and never moved a muscle.

Chicks are born after a 20- to 22-day incubation period. They are precocious and will probe on their own for earthworms after just a few days. They will fly in two to three weeks and be on their own when they are just five weeks old. Photo by Susan C. Morse ©

Woodcocks are beloved birds, and colloquial names such as timberdoodle, bogsucker, worm sabre, hokumpoke, bumblebee chicken, mud needle, and my favorite, whipperwon’t, reflect the fondness we feel for them. A woodcock’s face looks odd, but it is endearing. Large, dark eyes are positioned toward the back of the skull, giving the impression that the bird’s head has been put on backwards. This photo reveals the advantage. The hen woodcock can see behind her and even over the top of her head. Woodcocks have unmatched peripheral vision, as much as 180 degrees up and down and 360 degrees around. This is an essential adaptation for a bird that spends so much time bent over, with its bill buried to the hilt in the mud and with its derrière in the air. Photo by Susan C. Morse ©

A woodcock’s track has three forward-pointing toes that resemble ruffed grouses’, except that they are smaller and more slender, leaving dainty nail impressions in the mud where they are most frequently found. Look for knitting needle-sized holes among the tracks showing where a woodcock “probed” its 2.5- to 2.75-inch flexible bill into the mud in search of earthworms and insects. Once the prehensile bill is inserted, its sensitive nerve endings help find an earthworm. The underside of the upper bill is rough, as is the bird’s long tongue; these adaptations enable woodcocks to better grasp and consume slippery worms. Photo by Susan C. Morse ©

Respected bird authority Arthur Cleveland Bent described the American woodcock, Scolopax minor, as “the hermit of the alders.” Young alder thickets provide an open-ground understory with moist, nutrient-rich soil beneath, which supports an abundance of earthworms, a woodcock’s dietary mainstay. The dense, tangled overstory protects woodcocks from predators. Photo by Susan C. Morse ©