American Woodcocks Have Arrived "Peent"

FOY (first-of-year) American Woodcock recently, my target bird! Went out to a known area hoping the snow would be melted enough for woodcocks to have some open ground to display and it was. No sooner got there than 2 woodcocks flew in over my head. The craziest thing was my good friends and Big Year (a birding competition to see how many birds you can see in a year) birding legend record holders in the North America and AOU area Tammy McQuade and David McQuade called me to say hello at that moment, just as I was getting the bird I had come after. Perfect serendipity timing! One woodcock then landed, began "peenting" and launched into a display flight rising 200 ft. in the air and making a twittering sound with his wings, then spiraled down making a chirping sound. Females come to the display area, chose and mate with males then breed in a ground nest in the woods and raise the young themselves. Look for woodcocks now at dusk in open areas near woods and you may see (or hear as it is hard to see with binoculars in the dim light) this amazing ritual. A true sign of spring. I love woodcocks! Photo from another time.