Led by Vicki Bustamante and Ed Johann
Co-hosted by Concerned Citizens of Montauk and Third House Nature Center
One of the marvels of nature is the mating display of the American Woodcock – and it occurs in Montauk! The woodcock is an odd-looking bird in the shorebird family, a forest bird rarely encountered due to its camouflaged feathering and cryptic behavior. But at dusk in early spring, when there’s a full moon, it’s possible to see woodcocks put on a marvelous mating display. Males spiral upward, high into the sky above hidden females, and then, in a death-defying fall, plunge downward, all the while “peenting” to their prospective mates.
