I have honestly never heard anyone around here refer to our American Woodcock as a Timberdoodle, although I see it in the literature all the time. Perhaps that nickname is a regional thing, like our friends to the North calling them Labrador Twisters. I’ve never heard anyone call them a Bog Sucker either.

The American Woodcock is a fascinating bird. I remember first seeing them as a child while riding with my parents in the evening up to the old Grange Hall in Turnwood to attend square dances. I would see them in the Spring in puddles along the edge of the road, feeding.

Male woodcock put on a truly amazing display in the Spring to attract mates. It begins with calling on the ground and then soaring in an ever-increasing spiral to 200-350 feet high with its wings twittering, then a fast zigzag back down to earth while chirping, only to land silently by the female. This ritual is repeated many times.

The “sky dance” of the male woodcock is so spectacular, it inspired Aldo Leopold to write about it and help to begin the conservationist movement in the early mid-twentieth century. He called their mating ritual “a refutation of the theory that the utility of a game bird is to serve as a target, or to pose gracefully on a slice of toast.”

Woodcock have large eyes that are positioned near the top rear of their heads. The location of their eyes helps them to see predators while they are feeding with their heads down.

American Woodcock are a member of the snipe family, but differ from their coastal relatives by living in scrub fields and young forests. They like wet areas. Their mottled brown plumage is perfect camouflage for the leaf-strewn forest floors. Earthworms make up a large part of their diet.

Young American Woodcock leave the nest as soon as they hatch, but depend on their mothers for food for the first week or so. They quickly learn to emulate their mother and probe the soil for food. A woodcock will rock its body back and forth while walking and scientists believe this behavior may help get earthworms to move so that they can be located by the birds.

If you have never seen the magical display put on by a male woodcock, you owe it to yourself to keep an eye (and ear – listen for their “peent” calls and chirps) open during the Spring. It is truly an amazing sight to behold.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.