‘Timberdoodle’ nickname stumps reference book Woodcock also goes by ‘bog sucker,’ ‘night partridge’

Recently my co-worker, Dave Duguay, came to me and asked if I knew what a “timberdoodle” was. I had never heard of such a thing and wondered what on earth he was talking about. I began to wonder if he was playing a joke on me, as he is given to making up all manner of jokes and puns.

“Chris!” he exclaimed. “You write about birds and you don’t know what a timberdoodle is?!”

No, I had to admit, I didn’t.

He then graciously explained: “Timberdoodle” was the nickname given to a bird familiar to all those who have ever gone out in early spring to listen to and observe this bird’s unique territorial and breeding displays: the American woodcock.

Intrigued, I did some reading. The “Birds of North America” includes several nicknames for this bird but none as odd as “timberdoodle.” “Labrador twister” I could understand, as it seems this name reflects the bird’s spiraling flight display.

“Bog sucker” also made sense, as woodcock have long, prehensile beaks specialized for probing the soft earth for worms. Continuing in this vein, “night partridge” is also an apt description.

But, “timberdoodle?”

Strange monikers aside, I’ve always enjoyed this bird, which has come to represent the quintessential Maine spring for me. To be out at dusk, listening to its characteristic “peenting” call, and then watching after it launches itself into the air for its freefall spiraling flight, is to feel connected to the rhythms of nature.

Over the years I’ve had the privilege of witnessing some pretty wild woodcock flights. The most memorable was while staying at South Branch campground, in Baxter State Park.

I had gone for a walk around the grounds after dark; the night was brilliant with a full moon. I heard more than one peenting woodcock and listened in the dark as the birds took to the air to begin their territorial flights. The air seemed to be full of woodcocks as they whirled overhead, seemingly egged on by the full moon.

As I approached the parking area, I suddenly heard a very peculiar sound: an in-drawn, two-syllable grunting noise.

I nearly leapt into the air myself, in fright, before I realized it was made by a woodcock. The bird was on the ground several feet in front of me and made that odd sound just before uttering peent.

This is known as the “tuko” call, and is also described as a low gurgle. Ornithologists think it is used in communication with a nearby female woodcock.

Dave told me his story of being out in the woods recently and coming upon a hen woodcock with her chicks. He literally almost stepped on them, so expertly did their plumage camouflage them against the forest floor. He described the mother’s tactics to lure him away from her chicks: She flew several inches off the ground, noisily fluttering her wings while dangling her legs like “two pieces of loose spaghetti.”

He was surprised at the chicks’ advanced development this early in the season. According to the BNA, woodcock are one of the earliest ground-nesting birds in Maine; they usually begin laying eggs around April 24 and incubation lasts an average of 21 days. The chicks are precocial: Born with a covering of thick natal down, they are able to leave the nest within a few hours after hatching and follow the hen. They cannot feed themselves right away, though; the hen forages for food items for them for at least the first week.

In another month they will have reached adult size and acquired full plumage; soon after this, they will be able to fly. Migration to the southern and southeastern U.S. commences after the first few hard frosts in the fall – leaving us bereft of “timberdoodles” until the next spring season.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net