{"id":6556,"date":"2026-04-03T09:40:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T13:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=6556"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:47:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T16:47:59","slug":"its-timberdoodle-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/its-timberdoodle-time\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Timberdoodle Time!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"American<\/a>

American Woodcock. Photo credit: Ricky Layson Photography, Bugwood.org.<\/p><\/div>\n

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 \u201cpeents\u201d and the spectacular aerial flights of males looking to attract mates can be very entertaining.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cpeenting\u201d for a while, then fly high into the air to perform their \u201cdance\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re outside around dusk in early spring, keep an ear out \u2014 you just might hear the peent of a timberdoodle nearby.<\/p>\n

Resources:<\/strong>
\nAmerican Woodcock<\/a>, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Department of Fish & Wildlife
\nAmericna Woodock – Listen to Woodcock cal<\/a>l, Purdue Ross Biological Reserve
\nThe Birders’ Dozen Profile 2: American Woodcock<\/a>, Indiana Woodland Steward
\nLearn how forests are used by birds new videos<\/a>, Got Nature? Blog
\nManaging Woodlands for Birds<\/a>, The Education Store-Purdue Extension resource center
\nManaging Woodlands for Birds Video<\/a>, Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
\nBirds and Residential Window Strikes: Tips for Prevention<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
\nBreeding Birds and Forest Management: The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment and the Central Hardwoods Region<\/a>, The Education Store
\nNo Room at the Inn: Suburban Backyards and Migratory Birds<\/a>, The Education Store
\nThe Birders’ Dozen, Profile: Baltimore Oriole<\/a>, Indiana Woodland Steward
\nAsk An Expert<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
\nIt’s For the Birds<\/a>, Indiana Yard and Garden-Purdue Consumer Horticulture
\nNational Audubon Society<\/a>
\nThe Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Subscribe<\/a>, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel<\/p>\n

Brian MacGowan<\/a>, Extension Wildlife Specialist
\nPurdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u201cpeents\u201d and the spectacular aerial flights of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,45,54],"tags":[156,63,161,72,236],"class_list":["post-6556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gotnatureforkids","category-howto","category-wildlife","tag-bird","tag-how-to","tag-identification","tag-wildlife","tag-woodcock","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 02:07:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6556"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39401,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556\/revisions\/39401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}