About a dozen of us watched an excellent American Woodcock display this
evening. We were on the trail near the pine trees which are in the middle of
the first meadow on the left of the Hike/Bike Trail. There was still a fair
amount of light when we heard the first peents and we soon saw the birds
beginning their display flights. One landed no more than twenty feet away and
we were able to see his buffy belly as he peented away. This bird and another
were easy to see as they stood out in the open between the pine trees and the
trail. They were so close that we could even hear them inhaling just before
they unleashed their peents. We counted four woodcocks total. Earlier, I found
a Pine Warbler a bit further down the trail. I also heard a Wild Turkey gobble
in the dark.
Larry Meade
Vienna. VA
