|
|
|
American woodcocks were peenting around Mountain Township Wednesday night.
The peent or beep of the male woodcock is a mating display we associate with late winter or early spring and they are usually not doing it until mid- to late-February. Maybe the woodcocks know something we don't and there will be no severe weather before things start warming up again. We can hope.
The American woodcock is a strange bird. For one, it is a shorebird that lives in the forest. It has a large eye set at the rear of his head and a long bill with which it probes the ground for worms. The bird sits quietly camouflaged on the ground until somebody wanders too close and then it flies up with whistling wings startling all within a few yards of it. Another part of its mating display is flittering around aimlessly in the air making a weird twittering sound.
Learn more about this unique spring bird at this link.
Brian DeNeal grew up in the hills of southeastern Illinois and spends as much time as he can exploring the hollows, bluffs and creeks that draw tourists from throughout the Midwest. He is a staff writer for The Harrisburg Daily Register/The Eldorado Daily Journal and sits on the River to River Society board of directors. You may contact him via e-mail at the address bdeneal@ yourclearwave.com
