Got Nature? Blog

American Woodcock. Photo credit: Ricky Layson Photography, Bugwood.org.

You know Spring is around the corner when the days get longer and the temperatures rise. While the weather has pleasantly been warm this year so far, perhaps my favorite harbinger of Spring is the annual arrival of the American Woodcock, also known as the Timberdoodle. Their unique “peents” and the spectacular aerial flights of males looking to attract mates can be very entertaining.

Woodcock are migratory and spend their winters in the southern U.S. They arrive in Indiana in the early spring. Male woodcock typically set up their singing grounds in open fields and forest openings and recently logged areas. However, they can often be seen in urban areas including parks and even residential communities. The best time to observe them is at dusk. Woodcock will spend time on the ground “peenting” for a while, then fly high into the air to perform their “dance” only to return to the ground where they will repeat the process. This will go on until it gets dark. You can sometimes hear them peent in the morning before sunrise.

If you’re outside around dusk in early spring, keep an ear out — you just might hear the peent of a timberdoodle nearby.

Resources:
American Woodcock, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Department of Fish & Wildlife
Americna Woodock – Listen to Woodcock call, Purdue Ross Biological Reserve
The Birders’ Dozen Profile 2: American Woodcock, Indiana Woodland Steward
Learn how forests are used by birds new videos, Got Nature? Blog
Managing Woodlands for Birds, The Education Store-Purdue Extension resource center
Managing Woodlands for Birds Video, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Birds and Residential Window Strikes: Tips for Prevention, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Breeding Birds and Forest Management: The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region, The Education Store
No Room at the Inn: Suburban Backyards and Migratory Birds, The Education Store
The Birders’ Dozen, Profile: Baltimore Oriole, Indiana Woodland Steward
Ask An Expert, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
It’s For the Birds, Indiana Yard and Garden-Purdue Consumer Horticulture
National Audubon Society
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Subscribe, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel

Brian MacGowan, Extension Wildlife Specialist
Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources