A Friend in the Woods

We were out at our sugaring site on county land near out home today, when I noticed some movement from the corner of my eye.  Since I haven’t spent much time in the “North Woods” for quite some time, I was startled to see a small bird with a beak almost as long as its body startle from the leaves!  I had no idea what this little bird was, so I called out to Kerry who was emptying buckets a few hundred yards from where I was.  I thought for sure that the bird would fly off at the sound of my voice, but it just stood there, stock still, while Kerry slowly and quietly made his way over to check it out.  I quickly learned that this little bird was a Woodcock, and that they are considered a game bird in the area and usually flush when they detect a human nearby.  We were able to watch this one up close for a few minutes and managed to snap a picture before made its way further into the forest. 

​We were thinking that perhaps this was a female that is nesting or preparing to nest and that is why she was so slow to flush, but any insight would be greatly appreciated!

The Woodcock making a home at our sugaring site.