VOLUNTEER: Woodcock Habitat Restoration 2024-11-23

Woodcock Habitat Management Workday
*Date: Saturday, November 23, 2024
*Time: 9-11:45
*Place: Schenck Forest, meet at entrance road off Reedy Creek Road in Raleigh (near Bandwidth building)
*Project description: American Woodcock use small clearings to perform their "Sky Dance" mating ritual on winter evenings. We will cut and remove shrubs and weedy growth from three courtship grounds at Schenck Forest. These sites were established eight years ago in the Longleaf Pine regeneration stand by the Wake Audubon chapter in partnership with the NCSU School of Forestry in the College of Natural Resources. NCSU’s Leopold Wildlife Club has helped with site management as well.
To register: contact John Connors by November 20.
EMAIL [email protected] or call 919-841-8206
and leave your name and contact information.

*Bring: work gloves, garden tools such as lopping shears, hedge clippers, pruning saw, metal rake; appropriate foot wear like work boots, eye protection and hat; water, snack.
**NO POWER TOOLS, no shorts, no open toe shoes. Must be an adult.

*Important Information: This project involves physically challenging work in a semi-remote setting, so participants need to be physically fit, provide contact information, and sign release forms when they arrive.

Addendum by Lynn Erla Beegle:
The American Woodcock are shorebirds adapted to living in forests, feasting on earthworms. They have a complex mating ritual, often referred to as a Sky Dance. They For courtship dances, they need a relatively open space, about the size of a basketball court, surrounded by brush and woodland. For more information, read: https://forestsociety.org/forest-journal-column/timberdoodle-talent-skydancing-day-away
To watch a Sky Dance (it occurs at dusk): watch "Woodcock Displays" from Maine Audubon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaza-IgWiDs

Updated November 6, 2024