The American woodcock is a truly unusual bird
The woodcock is an odd-looking brown bird, with an oversized head, thick neck, a long stout bill, rounded wings, and a short body. Native lore says that after the creator made all the other birds, he fashioned the woodcock out of leftover parts.
It is classified as a kind of sandpiper, or shorebird, but spends no time at the beach. Rather it lives in moist woods of the eastern United States. Along with the Great Horned Owl, the American Woodcock is one of the earliest birds to breed and rear a family in southern Illinois. It is primarily a nocturnal bird, and rarely seen during the day. It's also a game bird, and at one time was a popular target for bird hunters.
The woodcock is about a foot in length (about the size of a Bobwhite), with a buffy breast, dark brown speckled back, plain brown wings, gray neck, and a barred pattern on its head. It probes with a 2 ¾" prehensile bill for earthworms in wet soils. "Prehensile" means it can open up the tip of the bill while it is underground, the better to search for and grab its prey. During migration, they can eat their weight (7 ounces) in earthworms daily. The eyes are set back in its head to provide an expanded, 360-degree field of vision; it can watch for predators even as it feeds.
The woodcock attracts a mate by calling out with a nasal-sounding "peent" and then performing a zigzag display flight at dawn and dusk during January, February, and March. During this aerial display the bird will make a variety of twittering noises using its wings, and, according to woodcockunlimited.org also makes a "liquid, warbling sound." The female raises her young in a nest on the ground; the chicks are able to feed themselves after just three days, and by five weeks they strike out on their own.
If you'd like to find one of these birds this winter or spring, here are some hints. American Woodcocks are easiest to locate by their nasal-sounding "peent" calls. You can listen to the call here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Woodcock/sounds. Once you hear them, see if you can spot one performing its display flight. Try looking either at dawn or dusk in a field or meadow next to a wet woodland. Some of the places they've been seen in our area include McLafferty Road in Carbondale, the SIU Tree Center on Thunderstorm Road, SIU Campus Woods, Sahara Woods State Recreation Area, and at Oakwood Bottoms.
<h3 class="breakHead">Current regional sightings</h3>
A solitary Sandhill Crane, a large flock of Trumpeter Swans (up to 75 individuals), and a single Tundra Swan have been seen feeding for the past week along Dowell and Coffer Roads, about seven miles southwest of Du Quoin. And if you've traveled up that far north, you might want to bird the Denmark Unit of Pyramid SRA to look for recently spotted Short-eared Owls (best at dawn or dusk). And on Conant Road, just north of Conant, is a Loggerhead Shrike.
If you're looking for additional ideas about where to go birding in southern Illinois, please consider my new book, Finding Birds in Southern Illinois. It's available in print and PDF versions at www.southwestbirders.com.
<h3 class="breakHead">About the author</h3>
Carbondale is my hometown, where I started birding 50 years ago. I spent an exciting 16 years as a bird guide, and have penned bird-finding books for several Arizona, California, and Illinois counties. I currently reside in Arizona, but visit southern Illinois when I can. You can reach me at henrydetwiler@earthlink.net.