April is POURING books and Woodcocks

So, I've more than made up for the bit of slacking I did in February on my reading NYR. I already have 2 books down for the month of April and against my better judgement, I just started a third :)

Book 1: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

I have nothing but great things to say about this particular book. Bill Bryson tells the story of his experiences hiking the Appalachian Trail with his buddy, Katz. Bryson is quite funny and is really able to capture the essence of the AT in his book. It made me get the itch to go hiking and camping, which is exactly what I'd hoped it was going to do :)

Book 2: A Supremely Bad Idea by Luke Dempsey

This is also an amazing book. I literally could not put it down and finished the whole thing in just 2 days. It's all about the author, Luke, and his two wonderful birding pals, Don and Donna, who are quirky to say the least. This book has humor as well as great stories of birding trips across the US.

Book 3: Kingbird Highway by Kenn Kaufman

I've reluctantly started this book against my better judgement. Not only is it near the end of the month when I'd like to start a new book when May begins, I also have final exams coming up next week and several large animal experiments finishing up next week (which means lots of work to be done in the lab). I know I probably need to keep focused on school and lab, but this book has been burning a hole in my backpack since the day I borrowed it. I'm a mere 20-something pages in and it has already captured my attention. There must be strict rules in the next several days regarding how much work I need to get done before allowing myself to dive into this book.

And now on to the Woodcocks!

Two nights ago I was privileged enough to watch the displays of some male Woodcocks not so far from my house. Growing up in Wisconsin, I know all about Aldo Leopold and have read many parts of A Sand County Almanac (though not in it's entirety, a book on my list for this year), including his essay on the Woodcock. We showed up at the spot, explored the fields a little and the sound of spring peepers (frogs, Pseudacris crucifer) was deafening. We kicked up a pair of Wood Ducks on our way across the field and focused some attention on the wet area in front of us. Someone in the group thought he had heard a Sora calling, so we played the Sora's call on an iPhone and waited. Then it called back! :) We weren't able to get a look at it, but hearing it respond to the taped call was very cool!

The sun was setting rapidly, so we walked back across the field and could hear the lovely Woodcocks peenting away. We located at least 2, maybe 3 and got some 'alright' looks of them flying up into the air. The sun was fading fast, so none of the looks were 'great', but I could see their silouette in the air as they flew by and up into the air. The most surprising thing to me was just how fast their little wings were beating! It looked like an overgrown hummingbird beating his little wings so quickly!

Another trip to watch the Woodcocks and hopefully spot the Sora is on my to-do list in the immediate future.