On this clear, still, slightly frosty morning, I see ahead of me on the edge of Green Heron Trail an unidentifiable roundish something. Stopping, I raise my camera, zoom in, and am delighted to see an American woodcock. From his hunkered-down position, he stands and starts walking across the trail, rocking forward and backward as he does so, before disappearing into the brush.
About the size of a robin, these plump little shorebirds reside in forests, old fields and wet meadows, where they use their long bills to probe for earthworms. Minnesota is on the northwest edge of their range; our woodcocks come here to breed but head south to the Gulf states for the winter.
American woodcocks — also known as timberdoodles — are known for their aerial spring mating displays.
Woodcocks (also called timberdoodles) are perhaps best known for their spring mating displays. At twilight, males give off loud peent calls, then launch themselves high into the air to perform a “sky dance.” Aldo Leopold, in A Sand County Almanac, describes this dance beautifully:
“Suddenly the peenting ceases and the bird flutters skyward in a series of wide spirals, emitting a musical twitter. Up and up he goes, the spirals steeper and smaller, the twittering louder and louder, until the performer is only a speck in the sky. Then, without warning, he tumbles like a crippled plane, giving voice in a soft liquid warble that a March bluebird might envy. At a few feet from the ground he levels off and returns to his peenting ground, usually to the exact spot where the performance began, and there resumes his peenting.”
You can see photos and videos of this fascinating bird on Cornell Lab’s “All About Birds” website.
At this time of year, when the colors of autumn have mostly passed and the colors of spring seem ages away, I like to look for beauty in less obvious places. Ice and frost cling to grass and leaves and tiny mushrooms, creating fleeting designs that will soon melt away.
Ice and frost decorate foliage in the chilly morning hours at the Arboretum.
The flowers of summer and fall have nearly all disappeared, but a close examination of their seed heads reveals intriguing patterns and textures.
Late fall reveals the fascinating patterns and textures of seed heads.
A gray squirrel munches on a mushroom. She seems to be squinting out of one eye, and I suspect it’s infected. Perhaps her impaired vision is why she lets me get so close to her! Or just as likely, she’s learned that Arb visitors are a non-threatening bunch.
A squinting gray squirrel munches on a mushroom near the trail.
For me, no visit to the Arb is complete without some birdwatching. American tree sparrows and dark-eyed juncos call and flit among bushes and trees. These recent arrivals will be with us all winter before heading north again in the spring to breed. The nuthatch’s yank yank call can be heard clearly on this calm day. These birds are year-round residents here in Minnesota.
American tree sparrows and dark-eyed juncos visit Minnesota in the winter while white-breasted nuthatches are year-round residents of Minnesota.
All signs of frost and ice have disappeared by the time I leave for home and the day is balmy and mild. Hard to say when winter will arrive in earnest!
Holly Einess is a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer. More information about the program is available on the Minnesota Master Naturalist website.