birdsoup

Birding activity during the past few months required dealing with frigid temperatures and trudging over a few feet of (hopefully) crusted snow. Needless to say I did not go out much. As a result, I developed a severe case of cabin fever.

Now warmer weather teases. Day Light Savings Time is in effect. Spring starts this week. Birds are singing in the morning.

Last Saturday evening, as the initial recovery stage in curing cabin fever, I joined a bird walk at Croton Point Park hoping to see Am. Woodcock perform their spring mating dance. Woodcock are sandpiper-type birds that live in wooded area. They have extremely long bills which they use to probe deep into the soil. Their eyes are located near the back of their head so if anything approaches while they are probing the Woodcock see. They are hard to sneak up on. And their coloration is perfect camouflage making them difficult to see. Except in spring when love is in the air.

Just at twilight on an early spring evening male Woodcocks move from their wooded habitat to nearby open fields where they perform their “dance” attempting to lure females. Calling their courtship ritual a dance is quite an exaggeration. The male struts around a little issuing a call that sounds something like “prent”. Then he fly a spiral path straight up into the air reaching heights of 100-150 feet. At the top of his vertical assent he stops flapping and falls back down to earth in fluttering manner usually landing back at the spot where he took off originally.

Observing the Woodcock ritual involves going into a suitable field just as darkness develops. Listen for the woodcock’s call. When it launches itself up into the sky, you rush to the launching spot waiting for it to flutter back to earth hopefully only a few feet away. That’s it. May not sound like much fun and it really isn’t. Just some unusual bird behavior from a bird you may not see any other time. It is hard to believe that this flight would attract a female, but to a female woodcock it is truly irresistible.
Saturday we did see one woodcock but it wasn’t performing. Maybe the presence of so many birders ruined the romantic atmosphere. It was skulking in short grasses where it was almost impossible to see. We highlighted it with powerful search lights and focused a scope directly on it. Still it was hard to see. It blended perfectly.
It was a lovely evening. No snow, no cold. Hints of spring. Nice sunset over the Hudson.
In addition to the one Woodcock we also spotted a pair of Bald Eagles, a single Merlin, a noisy mixed flock of 400-500 blackbirds (grackles, starling, red-wings, cowbirds), Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Great Blue Heron, and more.

My cabin fever is improving. A few more nice days and birds should cure it completely.