Woodcock Watch March 6, 2011

In his Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold described the mating display of the American Woodcock as a "sky dance." Announcing its presence with nasal peents, the male woodcock ascends high in the sky at dusk. To the accompaniment of a constant twittering, it circles, then plummets back to earth in a series of zigzag movements, wings whistling. On this field program to a natural area in upper Montgomery County, we'll hope to be lucky enough to catch a performance of this seasonal drama.