Nesting Woodcock

I was doing some work around my barn this afternoon and scared up this American Woodcock from a small clump of grass and Japanese Honeysuckle vines.

The Woodcock only flew a distance of about 8 feet and then came down in the grass. It froze in place, and I did the same. It had jumped into the air what seem like mere inches from my feet. That, along with the fact that it seemed reluctant to leave the area, suggested that there was a Woodcock nest very close to where I was standing.

I didn’t dare to move my feet for fear of stepping on a nest. While pulling my camera from its belt pouch, I carefully scanned the ground in front of me. The nest was just 18 inches away. Not wishing to disturb the Woodcock anymore than I already had, I took a couple quick pictures of nest and bird, and then slowly backed away. I returned about an hour later and got close enough to see that the female had returned to her nest.

I don’t know if this is the full clutch or if the Woodcock will still add another egg or two. A clutch of four eggs is typical for the species. I’ll have plenty of opportunity to keep an eye on this nest. It’s located only 12 feet from my barn door and only 4 feet from the path I travel every day around the backside of the barn. For the next few weeks, I’ll limit my activities in that area, so the bird can tend to the job of incubating her eggs in relative peace.

Woodcock Nest Finale

Monday afternoon, during my daily visit to check on the Woodcock eggs, I discovered the nest site in a state of disarray.  It wasn’t torn apart, but the nest location was distinctly more visible than before.  I hurried forward to see if the change was due to a visiting predator, or a successful hatching.

It was a hatching, although not one that was completely successful.  Two of the original four eggs remained intact.  The other two looked to have released live chicks into the world.  Unfortunately, the young birds were long gone by the time I arrived on the scene.

The empty shells show all of the signs of a successful hatching.  The chicks peck in a circular pattern around the large end of the egg.  The series of cracks allows the end of the shell to lift off like a lid.  Occasionally, the chick’s toenails will make puncture marks in the small end of the egg as it pushes itself out of the shell.

During the time these eggs were incubating, there have been several thunderstorms and two flooding rains, and temperatures have ranged from 25^oF to 82^oF.  During the time this clutch was being laid there was a storm that produced 2.2 inches of rain and flash flooding.  The location of this nest in the low area next to the creek could easily have been flooded.  It’s possible that the two unhatched eggs were killed during that event.  Woodcocks only produce one brood per year, so I hope the two hatchlings are lucky enough to survive to adulthood.

Woodcock Eggs

I’ve been making daily checks on the nesting Woodcock I posted about last week.  I don’t get close.  There are two large cedars about 35 feet from the nest that make a good hide.  A gap between the two trees is just wide enough for me to use my camera to zoom in on the nest and check the bird.  She has been facing a different direction on each visit, but she sticks tight to the nest.

Wednesday afternoon I saw this.  No woodcock in sight.

I moved in on the position and spotted four eggs.  The uncovered eggs are much easier to see than the sitting bird.

These birds don’t really make much of a nest.  Some of the material at hand seems to be rearranged a bit to make a depression deep enough to keep the eggs clustered together. 

The eggs were still slightly warm to the touch, so I was fairly confident that the Woodcock hadn’t been gone long from the nest and was probably close by hunting for worms.  The nearby area along the small tributary displays many holes left by feeding Woodcock.  I didn’t want to disrupt her return to the nest, so I left the area as soon as I captured a couple of images.

She was comfortably back on the nest the next day.  I’ll keep checking in hopes of viewing the newly hatched chicks.  The female leads the chicks off as soon they have all hatched and dried.  I’ll have to be extremely lucky to show up at just the right time for a sighting.  At least I should be able to find some broken egg shells.