About 10:00 Saturday night, coming home from a Woodcock Watch field trip with
the Roanoke Valley Bird Club, my husband and I came upon a woodcock feeding in
our driveway. Every now and then it would jump about a foot into the air, which
seemed odd since I thought they just fed on critters they found underground.
Perhaps sometimes they go after flying insects? We watched it for a while in
the light from our headlights, which did not seem to bother the bird at all. I
tried taking pictures and videos with my cell phone camera but there just
wasn't enough light; they all came out too blurry to even tell what kind of
bird it was. So Sunday night at dusk we went walking, hoping for another
chance, this time armed with a real camera and a spotlight. We heard at least
four peenting and flying, even saw a couple of their flights and could hear one
at the side of the road in the weeds, but we never got a chance at a picture.
Alyce Quinn
Burnt Chimney
