Concord, Mass.
1902
March 30
(No 4)
Soon after the Wild Geese had disappeared we
heard the Woodcock. He began peeping at rather long
& irregular intervals among the alders & then flew
to his regular station in the little opening, where
I saw him last evening. His first song flight was
normal & we watched him through the whole of it without
difficulty. The second time he rose he flew about 
50 yards and dropped into an opening beyond a stone
wall where another bird, probably his mate, had been
peeping intermittently. A few seconds later he rose
again & performed his usual song flight. This was
repeated three or four times in succession ie for three
or four successive times he flew from the
peeping station and alighted for an instant beyond
the wall before making his real ascent & singing.
Each of those preliminary flights was low and direct
(just high enough to clear the tops of the bushes) and
during each the bird uttered a low but distinct &
incisive grating sound almost exactly like that
made by a Red Squirrel while engaged in biting
through the shell of a hickory nut. Both of my
companions thought this the best comparison that
could be suggested. There can be no question that
this sound was produced by flying bird which, as I
could see distinctly by his small size, was a male.
Our impression was that it was a low call
addressed to his mate but we did not see the other
bird at all. She (if it was a female) peeped a good deal
this evening but at no time very regularly. She seemed
to us to be in a grassy opening about 50 yards from
where the male peeped. I have never heard the grating call before.
It lasted perhaps three or four seconds on each occasion.
Love notes of the Woodcock
Awakening in the middle of the night (at about 2 A.M. I should say by guess)
I heard the Woodcock peep three or four times in the pasture across the road.