Woodcock in Montgomery Co.
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Wed, 31 Mar 99 09:07:27 EST
Hi all --
Barry and I went out last night to the Woodcock spot posted earlier by Ellen
Paul -- this is the rough field to the right of the pond next to the Shady
Grove campus of the University of Maryland, off Research Blvd. and Shady
Grove Rd.
Anyway, we got there about 6:30 and by 6:45 deemed it was dark enough to
try. We had barely gotten over to the line of small trees between the pond
and the field when we heard the first PEENT. In all, we saw one Woodcock
on the deck, another flying over, and a third calling in the distance. All
activity stopped by about 7:05 -- there was a bright full moon which may have
affected them -- and there were no display flights. These birds may be on
passage and not breeders -- the area is starting to get rather disturbed,
with road construction and the dreaded little red flags in the field.
As Ellen noted, creep over there and stay quiet and you should be rewarded.
We enjoyed seeing one bird feeding, which is something you don't often observe.
(The moonlight helped a lot).
Cheers,
Gail Mackiernan
Silver Spring, MD