Spotted: The American Woodcock

In all the years living on the eastern shore this was my

 first sighting of an American Woodcock.  I took lots of pictures

but Wilson pulled out his 'big' camera and took

this one.  These beautiful little birds are 'hidders' and

are rarely seen ... so I feel blessed having had the

pleasure ... before we move! 

  

 The American woodcock (Scolopax minor), sometimes colloquially

referred to as the timberdoodle,^[2] is a small chunky shorebird species

 found primarily in the eastern half of North America. 

Woodcocks spend most of their time on the ground in brushy, 

young-forest habitats, where the birds' brown, black, 

and gray plumage provides excellent camouflage.

Its many folk names include timberdoodle, bogsucker, 

night partridge, brush snipe, hokumpoke, and becasse.^[5]

Winter Range

Most woodcock spend the winter in the Gulf Coast

 and southeastern Atlantic Coast states. Some may remain as far 

north as southern Maryland, eastern Virginia, and southern New Jersey. 

The core of the wintering range centers on Louisiana, Mississippi, 

Alabama, and Georgia.^[8] Based on the Christmas Bird Count 

results, winter concentrations are highest in the northern half of Alabama.