Species Highlight: Discover the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)
They may be difficult to see with their camouflage black, grey, and brown plumage, but if you stay vigilant during your next walk at Bernheim Forest, you might spot one of Kentucky’s few shore birds. Known as a Timberdoodle, Bogsucker, Labrador Twister, and most commonly American woodcock, Scolopax minor looks strikingly like a coastal shore bird with its small, rotund body and long, straight, prehensile (grasping) bill perfect for probing the sand, or in this case, soil.
It is in fact related to several shore species such as Red Knots (Calidris canutus), sanderlings (Calidris alba), and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). Unlike their beach loving relatives, however the woodcock inhabits young forests and shrubby woodland edges throughout the eastern half of the United States.
Twilight Courtship Flights
The woodcock is a true harbinger of spring in Kentucky, with the males typically beginning to perform a twilight courtship flight, known as the “sky dance”, in early April. This gaudy display consists of several steps. First, the woodcock will sound off with their single note “peent” call. Next, they lift themselves into the air and repeatedly fly in circles, producing a whistling sound with their wings in the process. Finally, they descend back to the same spot that they lifted off from, and repeat the process. This dance routine is typically repforageated for a half hour or more, but could last for several hours if a female doesn’t show up.
If a female woodcock takes notice of the dance, and is adequately impressed, the pair will copulate. After the two birds part ways, the female will lay between one and five eggs on the ground of early successional forest. The mother will incubate her eggs for approximately 21 days, and once the eggs hatch, she will brood the chicks until they are dry, at which time they will leave the nest. While the mother continues to help feed her young for about a week, the self-sufficient chicks are already probing the ground for their own food after about three days.
Diet and Foraging Behavior of Woodcocks
The woodcock eats a variety of insects and bugs, with earthworms being its choice prey. Both the male and female often perform another kind of “dance” while feeding – they will rock back and forth, “stomping” heavily on the ground, causing earthworms to move around, so that the bird can detect them. With its oversized eyes that are set further back and higher up in its head than most birds, the woodcock boasts a remarkable 360-degree field of horizontal vision, and the earthworm doesn’t stand a chance.
Declining Populations in Timberdoodles
It’s important to note that while the American woodcock is not federally listed as threatened or endangered, there is a concerning trend of range-wide population decline. This could be due to a variety of factors, but one reason is widely agreed upon: Loss of early successional, even-aged habitat that the woodcock depends on for breeding, nesting, and foraging. While the reasons for this habitat loss are multi-pronged, a recent lack of forest disturbance is a factor.
Declining timber harvest and fire management in the mid to late 21st century, as well as the relative sparsity of North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is affecting our forested landscape throughout the East. Much like logging and fire can clear large swathes of trees and shrubs to create a mosaic of even-aged prairie and forest, beavers can create a similar disturbance when they fell trees to make dams and lodges.
Although their population is declining, American woodcocks benefit from land management practices that create their preferred early-successional habitat. Bernheim is actively facilitating the creation and conservation of this habitat through controlled burns, brush-hogging, and monitoring and improving beaver habitat within the bounds of Bernheim Forest and Arboretum.
If you find yourself here in the early spring, keep your eyes and ears open for this enigmatic bird. You can also attend special Creatures of the Night programs that focus on the Timberdoodle. These special programs are lead by our volunteer naturalists and generally offered in March. Find a list of upcoming programs, including the March 20 and March 27 Timberdoodle Sky Dance programs on our event calendar at bernheim.org/events.
