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WORDS ON BIRDS
Woodcocks Hatch on Plum Island
May 17, 2008
Steve Grinley
I’ve written about the American woodcock in the past.
I’ve described their odd appearance - a stocky bird with long bill and
eyes near the top of their head. I’ve joked about their rocking walk
and I’ve shared the experience of their elaborate courtship display in
the spring. Now I’d like to share with you the story of a woodcock’s
nest off the Hellcat Swamp boardwalk on Plum Island as told by two
fellow birders. Let’s begin with Paul
Roberts of Medford who describes the creation of the nest:
“I don't know who first discovered the nest, but am
inclined to believe it was my wife, Julie, who spotted the bird on the
morning of April 19. (No one we saw earlier mentioned the bird prior
to that.) What strengthens that opinion is that Julie first spotted
the bird crouched more than a yard or so south of the recent nest. We…
watched the bird rumba in a sitting position, shaping a cup in the
leaf litter, and moving leaves and sticks about, clearly establishing
her nest. We watched quietly for perhaps half an hour as she went
about her work, fidgeting, fussing, and always acting a little
unsettled until she seemed to have the bowl just right and began to
sit quietly. Marveling at the exquisite beauty of the bird – what can
Brown do for you? – with more gray than I had ever seen before on a
woodcock, we proceeded down the boardwalk in futile pursuit of any
warblers.
“When we returned some time later, the bird was gone. I
think I was the one who discovered it sitting very quietly a yard or
two north of where we had seen it preparing what we thought to be its
nest. I think it had indeed established a nest cup but had been
clearly uncomfortable with it and moved north to the site where we
eventually saw it for four consecutive weeks. Last week we saw it
outbound, and were shocked to not see it on the nest inbound .
Instead, we spied two eggs partially exposed, far larger than we
expected. As Julie said, "Ouch, that must hurt." (Research confirms
that the eggs are unusually large for a bird of this size.) The hen
came waddling back to the nest while we watched and resumed
incubation.
“With synchronous hatching, and an incubation period
ranging from 19-22 days, this gorgeous female probably began laying an
egg a day on the 19th or 20th and began incubating three days later.”
Nancy Landry of Haverhill was lucky enough to
experience the hatching this past week:
“For the past three years I have been, fortunately,
shown or found an American woodcock on nest. This year seemed more
special as I had shown to others what they might have missed - the
American woodcock. How some were astounded that someone, not me, had
found this beauty along the marsh trail in among the leafage. And I
agreed each time how special it was.
“Today I had off and one of the first places I went to
was the see if the woodcock was still on her nest. When I got there I
found that she was, but something was different. Next to her I could
see two eggs. Someone had told me that they had seen her move off the
nest and had seen two eggs. One of these eggs had hatched as I could
see the opening. Why was she still here? Were there more eggs to
hatch?
“The answer came shortly as the mother woodcock got up
and walked back behind the small tree that I had used as a landmark on
finding her. As she moved off the nest, first one then two and then
three and four heads popped up. She had had her babies during the
night and had four not two eggs to hatch. I tried to get some photos
of the hatchlings, but the sun had only been up for twenty minutes and
the light to little. So I watch for the few minutes that it took her
and hatchling to walk around the tree and then back to the nest and
settle back down.
“I was surprised to see this as I thought that once the
eggs hatch the mother would take them away from the nest and not
return. My thoughts were that maybe there was one egg left to hatch
that I had not noticed, or she was waiting for the day to get just
that little bit warmer before disappearing into the wood. I came back
to the spot about an hour later to find that she had finally left.
Will I ever have such a special moment like this ever again?
“For those of you who would like to see the only
picture I got of the woodcock and one of her babies, I am posting it
on my website at:
http://www.pbase.com/image/97069344. If you look closely, you will
see an egg to her left and the baby to the right next to her bill.”
Paul summed up the experience:
“As Nancy said, it has been a wonderful experience, and
I will miss seeing that beautiful bird. I'm also happy to know that
the raccoons, weasels, foxes, coyotes, and crows did not get these
eggs. She has been a highlight in what has otherwise been a pretty
miserable spring for weekend birding.”
Steve Grinley
Bird Watcher's Supply & Gift and Nature Shop at Joppa Flats
Newburyport, MA
BirdWSG@Verizon.net
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