[Bristol-Birds] woodcock field trip report - Elizabethton TOS

     The Herndon (Elizabethton) Chapter of TOS visited Greeneville, TN on 
Saturday, Mar. 11, 2006 for an American Woodcock viewing excursion.  Dianne 
Draper, Don Holt, and Kim Stroud spent a casual afternoon birding around Greene 
County until 4:30 pm, when they were joined by Brookie and Jean Potter, and 
Wallace and Carolyn Coffey.  The group ate supper at The Brick Oven Restaurant, 
then proceeded to the Italian Village Restaurant, which was closed.
     Waiting in the broomsedge field just a few yards from the parking lot, 
they heard the first woodcock at 6:54 pm.  Birds were seen several times in the 
air, and illuminated for good views in flight at various distances and angles.  
Eventually, woodcocks were heard in three different directions at the same time.
     At one point, part of the group ventured a bit further into the field, 
seeing a bird land and take off repeatedly from a particular spot at the top of 
the rise.  Searching with a light revealed the bird on the ground in close 
view.  The group then left the spot to the bird, which later resumed calling 
from the same area.
     Another exciting moment occured when a bird flew by very close in front of 
Dianne Draper.  Another bird responded vocally from the ground near the group, 
making the chattering aggressive call.  These close encounters seemed to be in 
response to a taped playback which was sparingly used. 
     There was some conversation concerning the question of the proportions of 
the locally nesting females that mate with locally resident males versus males 
still migrating northward.  Information on the topic from readers of this 
report would be welcome.
     The group very soon reached the state that Wallace Coffey refers to as 
"observation saturation", and all left for home around 7:30 pm fully satisfied 
with the evening's spectacle.
 
submitted by
Don Holt
Johnson City, TN

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