Another day, another woodcock downtown

Tim Hanafin spotted this woodcock on Water Street this morning. Reports are now coming in of woodcocks all over Boston Proper (dear reader: we spared you a photo of a poor, dead woodcock in Fort Point).

According to the Ruffed Grouse Society, which also covers woodcocks (cut that out, of course there's a Ruffed Grouse Society), late October and early November is peak migration time for northern woodcocks flying south for the winter.

Woodcock migrate at altitudes of about 50 feet, flying at night and resting or feeding in secluded thickets during the day. The birds travel alone or in loose flocks called "flights." Migration usually peaks in late October and early November in more northern areas, but the process sometimes starts as early as September and lasts until the end of November. With the coming of autumn, strong northwest winds and cold nights push large numbers of woodcock south.

The society has a database which you can use to report woodcock sightings.

And the Animal Rescue League of Boston has a hotline, at 617-426-9170, to report birds that appear injured or disoriented.