peenting time

•

With timberdoodles, it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. And at this particular time of the year, at twilight, the male woodcocks, a.k.a. “bogsuckers"—as the species was called during Audubon’s day—begin their courtship displays and "peent" calls. (If you are a female woodcock, it speaks to you. Trust me.)

Tomorrow evening, join me for a muddy walk to Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area to search for American woodcocks. In years past, we have been able to slowly creep through the dry grasses to be within only a few feet of the ardent crooners. We could see them flying, although with the fading light not that clearly. It's remarkable how they practically disappeared, right before your very eyes. Poof!

This bird is quirky!

Audubon wrote that American woodcocks favored “Rivulets that run through thickets, and of which the margins are muddy or composed of oozy ground.”
 

Ooozy ground, indeed! Seeing such an odd little bird in such an out of the way location makes you wonder: Just what else is out there peenting in the night?

To sign up for our end-of-day adventure, call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110. Dress for muddy conditions! And keep your fingers crossed that we can find one of these odd things in the half-light of a dying day.

- American woodcock by John James Audubon, "The Birds of America" Plate #268


•