Woodcock

[rakes]

I was out last night looking for morel mushrooms and I came across a woodcock, which I thought was odd for this time of the year. It flew off and started to do the wounded duck act and that is when I noticed two chicks in the mushroom patch that I was working on. They had feathers on their wing tips and I would say that they were the the size of my palm. I stopped picking and went back to the house. I live just south of Mankato about 5 miles. I have seen woodcock in the fall and in the spring during their migration but I never knew that they nested around here. Let me know your thoughts. Very, very cool! I later read read that they have up to four chicks so there may have been a couple more, but I didn't want to bother the dancing mother any longer.

[JayinMN]

Wow, neat find not many people have seen a baby woodcock. They do nest throughout Minnesota but they are camouflaged so well you rarely see them, especially after things green up. The babies are some of the ugliest birds I have ever seen.

[Birdsong]

Nice story, and I am really proud of your birding etiquette. Way to go.