Dance of the Timberdoodles

Spring is in the air and the animals are showing their enthusiasm by displaying their love for one another. Some animals have quite strange ways of showing their affection and attracting a mate. One such creature is the unique looking American Woodcock also called the timberdoodle or bog sucker.

Their strange looks help them to survive. Their large eyes help them to see above to avoid an aerial assault when they are feeding and they use their long bills to probe into the ground for juicy earthworms. Did you know these plump timberdoodles are shorebirds? It’s true, they just happen to be the only ones that frequent such places as forests and fields.

I always get so excited to hear the Woodcocks; it’s a sure sign that winter has finally ended! I usually hear them in late March, early April up at Lab Hollow when we do our Amphibian Alert (as you read about in Tom’s previous blog post). Lately I have been hearing them almost every night in the field next to my house in Skaneateles. Have you heard this nasally peeent call? It’s the male calling loudly to the females that he’s here and ready for action! Check out the funny video below to experience this sound for yourself!

Another way male Woodcocks attract the females is by showing off their fancy dance moves which the video below captures perfectly!

The most unique part of the mating ritual happens at dusk. The male Woodcocks perform their sky dance while making whistling noises with their wings. It’s really quite impressive the way they zig and zag in the air, looking like a rotund bat! Once they have spiraled down from high in the air they chirp and then land silently near a female (if she is nearby) and begin to peent – inviting the female in for a private dance for two.

Woodcocks are ground nesters and the females lay their eggs about a month after accepting the male’s invitation. The males are not involved in the rearing of the young and will meet several other females before spring is over. Being that they are ground nesters and thus susceptible to predators the young need to be up and out of the nest soon after hatching. They will stick around the area though to get eating pointers from mom.

It’s not too late to get out and observe these amazing shorebirds in action! At dusk find a field and there is a good chance you will hear the call. Isn’t love grand?