Bobwhite
- Thread starter dogg57
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While on the subject of nesting birds ...... we were walking in the woods on a remote upland dune near Dutchtown and as I passed under a branch of a pine tree a bird quickly flew out above my head. I turned as it flew violently to the ground and it was apparent it had a damaged wing. It struggled to get away from me as I slowly walked toward it. I watched it for a few seconds and turned back in the direction we were going all the while Jessica and I were discussing it. Suddenly it occurred to me the bird was faking it and we quickly returned to the branch and looked up. I could see what looked like a nest just out of reach.
Fortunately, I am not too old to carry 100 pounds on my shoulders and I was in luck with Jessica with me
So, with her GoPro in hand I lifted her up to try and see what was there. Now when this video starts look very closely at the bird which is somewhat hidden. She was not at that time able to get much higher. You will see her move away and then the bird took off. So it was fully able to fly. Then we get our act together again and she was able to get higher and see that nothing else was in the nest.
Give it time to load. I had to make it smaller than I wanted and cut the quality back to make it load faster.
http://home.comcast.net/~islandtee/video/bird3.mp4
Fortunately, I am not too old to carry 100 pounds on my shoulders and I was in luck with Jessica with me
So, with her GoPro in hand I lifted her up to try and see what was there. Now when this video starts look very closely at the bird which is somewhat hidden. She was not at that time able to get much higher. You will see her move away and then the bird took off. So it was fully able to fly. Then we get our act together again and she was able to get higher and see that nothing else was in the nest.Give it time to load. I had to make it smaller than I wanted and cut the quality back to make it load faster.
http://home.comcast.net/~islandtee/video/bird3.mp4
Thanks Scott! There was another bird nearby that kept flying around and it had an odd tail as it flew. Maybe the male even though it did not look like the bird in the nest. It was always in our way and had to keep flying off as we neared it.
I'd be very surprised if it was a Woodcock. They nest on the ground and they are migratory, should be up north by now. It would be pretty rare to have one nesting here and in a pine habitat as they exist on invertebrates, mostly earthworms. Did it have a very long beak? Maybe a Killdeer as they are tree nesters and fake injury to protect the nest. Picture of a Woodcock below;
and a Killdeer
and a Killdeer
I agree 46'er with all of your info regarding woodcock habits and habitat.
I based my opinion the very brief view of the bird early in the video. It has the profile and coloration of a woodcock and maybe I imagined the long beak ? It is really hard to tell.
I based my opinion the very brief view of the bird early in the video. It has the profile and coloration of a woodcock and maybe I imagined the long beak ? It is really hard to tell.
Yep, the body coloration is pretty close, but the nest in the tree and the area found did not click. I used to hunt for them with 2 of my now departed friends. I found this vid of a Killdeer faking it, might be a help to Tee identifying it.
The mystery continues...
Def wouldn't be a killdeer, they do feign like crazy but the habitat in the pines isn't right. I see them by more open areas, have never seen one in the pines that i can recall. Habitat isn't right for a woodcock either.
Head shape looked to me like a Whipoorwill or Nighthawk but their also ground nesters aren't they?
sure thats a nest? I can't tell from the video, could just be where all the pine needles get hung up. Nighthawk or whip seems more logical.
As you have guessed it is not a killdeer. I have come across them and my daughter Jennifer has been dealing with one at work. They are ground nesters. The one in the below photo's with the stripes is the killdeer I found at the Bridgeport Cemetery. It was not one bit afraid of me just like the one my daughter dealt with.
I suspect Scott may still be correct. Since I have the full size video I was able to go frame by frame and enlarge it and the beak is long. I tied to get the best views but that was hard.
The beak is long.
Compare them. The eye on the one in the nest looks exactly like the eye I see online for the woodcock. See how thick the beak is by it's head. A sure sign of a long one.
The Killdeer in the Bridgeport cemetery and an egg.
With that all said, the bird that was faking it seemed bigger, more like a dove that Gibby mentions. But it was opening it's wings trying to fake me out.
I suspect Scott may still be correct. Since I have the full size video I was able to go frame by frame and enlarge it and the beak is long. I tied to get the best views but that was hard.
The beak is long.
Compare them. The eye on the one in the nest looks exactly like the eye I see online for the woodcock. See how thick the beak is by it's head. A sure sign of a long one.
The Killdeer in the Bridgeport cemetery and an egg.
With that all said, the bird that was faking it seemed bigger, more like a dove that Gibby mentions. But it was opening it's wings trying to fake me out.
Guy, check out this image and then look at the video - http://stevecreek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Mourning-Dove-Fledgling_110719_6260.jpg
-I think it is a match.
The distraction
-I think it is a match.
The distraction
Now that I see the eye closeup I say Woodcock as well. Don't know their nesting habits but that looks like a Woodcock eye to me.
I'll go with Gibby and the Dove. In the picture with the arrow pointing at the eye, the beak is visible and matches a Dove, certainly not a Woodcock. Eye does not match a Woodcock.