This is the story of a ridiculous but amazing bird. It was Friday, January 19, the last day for the ESVNWR's woodcock program with students from Jamestown and Lafayette high schools. The American woodcock is a shorebird that doesn't live by the shore; instead it lives in uplands. They have a dumpy body, stubby wings, long bill, and big eyes. Their common names of bog-sucker and timberdoodle are as ridiculous as their appearance.

When I tell the students all this they seem to wonder, "Why should I care about this stupid bird?" They should care because woodcock migrate, but little is known of their migration habits. Their numbers are also declining, so we band woodcock to learn more about them and to better manage for them.

After dark we went out to band the little birds. There is a special technique to catching woodcock. You don't wait for them to fly into a net like other birds, but instead you stalk them. They feed in fields at night on their favorite meal - earthworms. Actually, they look like those dipping bird toys when they feed. They rock back and forth on the ground, supposedly drawing the earthworms close to the surface, and then they insert their long thin bill into the ground to slurp up their meal.

As we travel the fields, one person shines a spotlight back and forth to locate the birds. This isn't as easy as it seems since woodcock are well camouflaged, blending in perfectly with leaves, grass, and soil. Usually all you can see is the reflection of their huge dark eyes. When we find a woodcock, the spotter shakes the light to daze the bird while someone sneaks up on it with a long net attempting to quickly but carefully capture the bird.

Now comes the most important part. First, we band the bird in case it gets away. We then examine the feathers to determine its age. By convention, birds age one year on January 1, so all the birds were aged After Hatching Year (AHY). Next we measure bill length, width of the three outer primary wing feathers, and weight. These measurements tell us if we caught a male or a female. Like most birds, the girls are larger, so bigger size usually means it's a female, but not always. In hard winters when the ground is frozen, they can't forage well, and all woodcock tend to be small. That wasn't the case on this night. We had a stretch of warm weather that was perfect for our avian visitors. They were big, healthy, and fast. If the net handler wasn't quick enough the woodcock shot straight up into the air like a helicopter. Even the twittering of their stubby wings sounds like a helicopter.

This particular night, 18 students caught 10 birds in two hours - one of our best nights ever. As the evening went on the kids became more excited about finding, catching and handling the woodcock. I was amazed to hear them discuss a silly little bird instead of typical adolescent banter. Through this first hand experience, the kids came to realize how special these birds are.

It wasn't just the students who came to appreciate woodcock. This intern did a lot while at the refuge, but nothing could compare to working with that bird. I admire them and enjoy watching them as they bob back and forth searching for worms. Even though they are ridiculous in the way they look and act, they are incredibly adapted to their way of life. Sure, raptors may be fierce and swift and songbirds may be pretty and melodic, but the timberdoodle, being imperfect and a little odd, is a bird everyone can appreciate.

Krista Peters
Intern at ESVNWR