The last time I saw this amazing bird was 10 years ago. I was actually turning around in a trail head parking lot late yesterday, when this woodcock crossed my path. It flew off before I could get my camera into moving picture mode.
It’s finally getting to be hiking weather. I was out for the best part of the day, taking a 6-mile hike on trails in Schunemunk Mountain that I haven’t seen in months.
I need to improve my foxwalking technique. I surprised a chipmunk and annoyed a squirrel during my hike. The wood frogs fell silent before I even got close. But within 5 minutes of getting back to my car (the only one in the parking lot), I saw the woodcock and a few minutes later, a redtail hawk trying to grab a road kill (I wasn’t fast enough with my camera). As I drove away, hoping to give the hawk a chance for Sunday dinner, I also saw turkey vultures sitting near by, waiting for their opportunity to feast on the road kill and countless robins on the grassy margins, probably feasting on earthworms.
The ice is gone from this area, making hiking an option again. It’s odd to think that my best wildlife opportunities will be on the woods roads or trail parking lots. But even now, as the first white-throated sparrow calls outside my window, I’m reminded that human impact causes both destruction and opportunities for every living thing.
It’s time to get out Birding By Ear. Like any learning, I manage to pick up a few at a time simply by playing it. Most people are bombarded by hit songs or commercial jingles. I hate when that stuff gets stuck in my head. But if repetition works for bird calls, then I’ll just keep playing the tapes until I learn which birds are calling from the treetops or the midlayer.