Vanishing Gypsies

The woodcock have seemed to have moved through in one big rush to their northern nesting grounds. I've only been able to move a handful on our last several trips afield. Yesterday Emma and Thicket and I traveled north to Lake Raystown. With it long stretches of hawthorn and alder bottoms it should draw in the woodcock, but I've never been able to find many birds there and it held true yesterday.

 As luck would have it I walked up the first two birds and we were well through the bottoms before Emma finally found one.

I've heard reports of a hen on a nest to the north of me so my woodcock outings will soon end for this spring.