timberdoodle!
A couple evenings ago, Dori called to tell me she’d just heard an American Woodcock (aka “Timberdoodle”) in the neighborhood — she thought maybe it was in the direction of the hayfield. Then tonight as I walked back from dinner in the Common House and was approaching our house, I heard the woodcock’s distinctive nasal “peent” sounding remarkably nearby.
Following the sound, I headed up the path directly away from our house toward the river. And there, just 20 feet from the end of the path, was the little timberdoodle peenting away. Pretty soon he took off into the air, making his zany, twisting, twittering display flight, then came rushing back down to the ground to start all over again from the same spot.
I had to head inside for the kids’ bedtime, but keep your ears and eyes open at dusk in the coming days to catch this remarkable little bird doing his thing to find a mate.
For those interested, here’s a nice web page about the American Woodcock.