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How the Woodcock’s Journeys Connect Us
An odd bird takes a big journey south
© Fyn Kynd
In this show, Marcus Rosten shares his involvement in a study of the American Woodcock with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study revealed the surprising journeys of one of North America’s quirkiest birds. One woodcock caught near Buffalo flew nearly 400 miles south without stopping, en route to spend the winter in North Carolina. Migrations like the woodcocks’ help connect people all over the continent and highlight the importance of making sure these birds can find safe places to live throughout their range.
BirdNote®
How the Woodcock’s Journeys Connect Us
Written by Marcus Rosten
This is BirdNote.
I’m Marcus Rosten, and while working for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, I assisted in a study into the behaviors of one of my favorite birds, the American Woodcock.
[American Woodcock “peent” calls]
Woodcocks look like a shorebird that got lost in the woods. Their brown and black speckles camouflage them perfectly, until they sing.
[American Woodcock “peent” call]
Which sounds less like singing, and more like yelling the word “peent”, over and over.
[American Woodcock “peent” calls]
We spent many nights waiting for the sun to set and the peenting to begin. We caught and equipped a female with a band and a GPS backpack to track her live as she migrated. We observed this bird flying over 600 miles south from Buffalo to spend the winter in North Carolina. One night she flew nearly 400 miles without stopping!
[American Woodcock wing noise]
Picturing that bird on winter vacation on the coast reminded me how birds connect us all. From Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Western New York to the Croatan National Forest in North Carolina, and all the stopover habitats in between, we need to prioritize protecting our grasslands and young growth forests so the woodcock’s powerful peents can be heard long into the future.
[American Woodcock “peent” calls]
This week is Black Birders Week. To learn how to participate, follow the hashtag Black Birders Week on social media and visit BirdNote dot org.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. American Woodcock ML96879691 recorded by Tom Johnson, and American Woodcock ML53571741 recorded by Andrew Spencer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote June 2023
Narrator: Marcus Rosten
ID# AMWO-05-2023-06-03 AMWO-05
Marcus Rosten
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
