Celebrate Spring with the Nature Conservancy and Observe the Spectacular Courtship Flight of the American Woodcock

The Pennsylvania Chapter of The Nature Conservancy is offering a public walk at our Hauser Nature Center in Long Pond, PA to celebrate spring and view the spectacular and elaborate mating courtship ritual of the male American Woodcock. 

This family-friendly walk is free and open to the community, but space is limited, so reservations are required. Each spring, male American Woodcocks establish their “singing grounds” and perform elaborate courtship displays involving spiraling bursts of flight up to 300 feet in the air - while singing a series of liquid notes - and then dramatically plummeting back to earth. 

The American Woodcock is a fascinating bird that calls our Long Pond Preserve home during the spring. Superbly camouflaged against the leaf litter, the brown-mottled American Woodcock walks slowly along the forest floor, probing the soil with its long bill in search of earthworms. Unlike its coastal relatives, this plump little shorebird lives in young forests and shrubby fields across eastern North America. Its cryptic plumage and low-profile behavior make it hard to find except in the springtime at dawn or dusk, when the males show off for females by giving loud, nasal peent calls and performing dazzling aerial displays.  

WHEN:          

Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 7:15 PM 

WHERE:        

We will meet at the Hauser Nature Center and take a short walk to a meadow adjacent to the Tunkhannock Township ball fields. Directions: From I-80 take Exit 284 (Blakeslee). From I-80 East, turn right onto PA 115. From I-80 West turn left onto PA 115 South. Continue for 3.1 miles. Turn left onto Long Pond Road at the Pocono Raceway sign. Continue for 2.7 miles. Just past Tunkhannock Township firehouse and the Long Pond post office turn left to Nature Conservancy. A green and gold sign faces the road. 

WHAT TO BRING:  

Comfortable shoes and binoculars are recommended 

CONTACT:   

Pre-registration is required. Call The Nature Conservancy’s Hauser Nature Center (570) 643-7922 or email zgoodrich@tnc.org. Visit www.nature.org/pennsylvania for more details about this event and many others throughout the state, and check out www.allaboutbirds.org/americanwoodcock for more information about the American Woodcock.



The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org