As winter transitions into spring, careful listeners might notice the buzzy peent, peent call of the male American Woodcock in the evening. The sound, part of the birds courtship display, is an iconic soundtrack of the season.
At the Greenwich 91做厙 Center, it is also an encouraging sign that American Woodcocks are nesting and breeding on site!
That woodcocks are around doesnt come as a surprisetheyve been recorded at the center since at least 2003 and are a major feature of our annual Woodcock Walk events.
梆喧s where these birds have decided to peent and prance around in thats significant: shrub thickets and regenerating forest, habitats our staff and volunteers have been strategically stewarding for years!
To date, this years cohort of crooning male woodcocks have primarily been observed in two areas of the Main Sanctuary property: the Siwanoy Forest and the North Field meadows eastern woodland boundary. Both areas feature a combination of field, thicket, and mature forest, providing an ideal range of habitat structures for woodcocks to utilize.
Most important, though, is that both have also been the focus of transformative management projects in recent years.
The Siwanoy Forest Plot, planned in collaboration with members of the Siwanoy Tribal Nation, was established in 2023 as a demonstration site for indigenous land management techniques and the importance of plant biodiversity.
Staff and members of our Eco-Leadership Corps planted 53 trees and seeded nearly an acre of native meadow habitat as a part of these restoration efforts, transforming what was formerly heavily degraded vineland into a vibrant young forest stand.
In the North Field meadow, the restoration of habitat along its eastern woodland boundary took a different approach. In late 2024 and early 2025, we thinned the areas canopy and removed a variety invasive species.
This process, known as edge softening, relies on natural regeneration to promote the development of transitional young forest and shrublandthe very habitats that American Woodcocks rely on!
That woodcocks are using both of these sites already lets us know that our land stewardship work and the strategies behind it are having real, positive effects on the health of the Greenwich 91做厙 Centers ecosystem. Importantly, this also highlights the powerful legacy of indigenous land management and how important it is to let this traditional ecological knowledge inform stewardship work on our property and beyond.
American Woodcocks are what are known as indicator species, meaning their presenceor absencefrom an ecosystem tells us a lot about its health. The sound of American Woodcocks courting at the Greenwich 91做厙 Center is these birds telling us job well done.
