American Woodcocks a.k.a. "TIMBERDOODLES"

T'was recently quite cold on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Chilling winds and 5 inches of snow wrecked havoc on (water pipes and) all the local wildlife. But perhaps, the most peculiar animal that made itself known was the odd-ball little "Timberdoodle," "Bugsucker," or as it's commonly called American Woodcock.

Check out the images I was able to get of these guys while visiting Bodie Island Light Station, run by the National Park Service in Dare County, North Carolina. AND ENJOY the INFO. "We all here to learn wright...?"

"The Seneca Indians believed that The Creator made the American Woodcock from the leftover parts of every other bird. It’s an ancient waterbird that in some distant era left the marshes and like some prodigal child, took off for the uplands, to hang out in grouse and whippoorwill country.

It seems to be built opposite of most other birds. Instead of a short bill and a long tail – like the chicken-like ruffed grouse, the elegant pheasant, or the hawk that hunts it as prey – the woodcock has a long bill and a ridiculously stubby tail. And that snipe-like bill has its famous “hand” at the end – a prehensile tip, adapted for plunging down into moist soil and grasping its favorite worms to pull them out.

Their bugged-out eyes seem over-sized for their little heads; their ear holes are in front of the eyes; and the whole head appears to rest on the roly-poly body without benefit of a neck." - The Rev. Musing.