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Woodcocks inspire wonder at Wells Reserve

From Watermark Vol 15 No 2 Pg 4 (Summer 1998)

by Paul Dest

Few sights and sounds embody the mystery and magic of nature as those of the American woodcock's courtship displays. A small migratory bird that arrives in Maine in late winter or early spring, the woodcock and its mating antics delight many early spring birders. With its fields, adjacent woodlands, and moist alder thickets, the Wells Reserve has perfect habitat for this fascinating bird. And if our "singing ground survey" conducted this spring is any indication, it also has a good-sized breeding population.

The woodcock (Scolopax minor) is a member of the sandpiper family. Also called a timberdoodle, bogsucker, and Labrador twister, it is related to the semipalmated sandpiper and the sanderling, which we see on Drakes Island and other Maine beaches. But unlike its cousins, the woodcock prefers wooded rather than marine environments. It is a misplaced shorebird that flies to the beat of a different drummer.

Male woodcocks arrive before females, usually in mid-March at the Wells Reserve. Their urge to attract a mate is strong. As soon as they arrive males, oblivious to the absence of females, begin performing courtship flights over their singing gorunds--a sign of the competitive nature of woodcocks and the need to stake their claim to prime breeding sites.

The woodcock courtship display is triggered by low-light conditions, usually occurring at dusk, but sometimes at dawn or at night during full moons. Like clockwork, the male flies into a field from its wooded daytime cover 10 to 15 minutes after sunset. He flies upward in spiraling circles, creating a twittering or whistling sound with his primary wing feathers. At the height of his flight, about 250 feet over the singing ground, the male flies steeply downward, landing close to his original position. On the ground, the male emits a series of nasal peents (the woodcock's song) before taking off again. He will repeat this performance 20 times over a period lasting between 30 to 60 minutes each evening, mating with one or more females during the season. By early to mid-May in southern Maine, the courtship display is over, and the nesting, hatching, and brood-rearing period commences. I am sad to say the dad does not stick around for rearing the young; the mom is on her own. By mid-June the young birds are no longer dependent on their mother.

The unique courtship ritual of these usually secretive birds makes watching them a treat. On April 18, during the Reserve's first Woodcock Watch, about 30 people witnessed and enjoyed this natural display. Throughout the remainder of April and early May, I returned several times to the singing grounds of the Reserve at sunset. I observed and heard more than eight displaying males--a sign that American woodcocks take up residence each year in the woods and fields of the Wells Reserve.

Sources for this story include:
Wildlife Biologists Mark Ellingwood and Ellen Snyder.