Graduating to the Next Level of Birding

Birding Lessons from the Elusive Woodcock + Events, Podcast and Substack Recommendations, and a Book Review

American Woodcock - Image from Canva

Welcome to The Sunday Sip, our weekly excuse to share personal essays, events, book reviews, and whatever else we’re thinking about. We take turns writing it—and this week, I feel like I should warn you, it’s my turn.

I’m talking about lessons learned while hoping to see the American Woodcock do its mating dance.

While preparing for our podcast interview with Michigan Audubon, I discovered their Cerulean and Kirtland’s Warbler tours. I consider myself an avid backyard birder, though not at the Amy Tan level, so the idea of leveling up with her is intriguing.

After a bit of hemming and hawing, we pulled the trigger and bought tickets for the warbler bird tours. I know they say our phones aren’t listening, but I swear mine was. Seconds later, another bird-watching tour in Jackson, Michigan, popped up.

As the saying goes, “In for a penny, in for a pound,” so we bought those tickets too. It felt like taking off the training wheels before joining the “real” birders at Michigan Audubon.

Before we arrived at the Dahlem Conservancy for the bird program, we stopped at OGMA Brewing for beer and food. This was probably not the best idea, but we couldn’t be that close and not stop.

The beer and Chuck’s full belly were, shall we say, “very relaxing.”

Surrounded by 25 people in a toasty room waiting for the presentation to begin, Chuck was trying not to take a nap. This is so not like Chuck, and I was rather amused by it. I could see the muscles around his eyes tighten as he struggled to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids kept sliding slowly shut. Then he would flutter them open. And then he would shake his head slightly like he was trying to shake off the fog.

Curious if he would actually fall asleep, I didn’t nudge him. I wouldn’t have let him start snoring or anything. I’m not that person, but I was seriously curious if he could actually fall asleep in a room full of people.

But Carrie Benham, the Naturalist Educator for Dahlem, got things going. Her banter with the audience revived Chuck. And just like that, he was wide awake for a short lecture on the American Woodcock.

The presentation was the pregame for the real reason we were there: a short night walk to the Conservancy’s grasslands to watch and listen as the American Woodcock performed their seasonal mating ritual, a “Sky Dance.” The ritual begins with a male bird’s mating call, called “peenting.” It sounds like a short buzzing noise and is very distinctive. (If you want to hear it, Lang Elliott’s video is a fabulous example. I giggle every time I watch it.)

A few fun facts we learned about the American Woodcock:

• A group of Woodcocks is called a “cord.”

• Aliases: Timberdoodle, Wood Snipe, and the slightly unfortunate Bog Sucker

• Their signature move! Their internet-famous “Wobble Dance.” (Bill Hubick’s soundtrack is perfect!)

I desperately want to see a Woodcock do the “Wobble Dance,” but actually witnessing this wasn’t part of the plan for tonight. It isn’t exactly known why they do this, but one theory suggests they do this to find earthworms, which make up 80% of their diet.

At the Dahlem Conservancy, the Woodcock’s feeding site is in wetlands covered with shrubby trees; we’d have had better odds of winning the lottery than of seeing the “Wobble Dance.”

Carrie emailed us prior to the program, saying to wear appropriate footwear for the trails, which were wet because it had been raining off and on, but the weather forecast promised we should be ok for the walk. If we wanted, we could carry a small flashlight in our pocket, but our goal is to rely on our night vision and let our senses guide us through the trails. This was also intriguing, as I couldn’t remember the last time I walked in the woods using only my night vision.

There are five miles of trails for visitors to explore, and we were headed to the far side of the Prairie Grasslands.

Carrie, our trail guide, did an excellent job entertaining us along the way, pointing out things we’d likely have missed without her.

It didn’t take me long to notice that many of the other birders had binoculars. I felt a bit silly. “Good grief,” I thought, “What kind of birder am I?” I mentioned the missing binoculars to Chuck. He shrugged and pointed to the mega lens on his camera. Eyeballing the mega lens, I felt a tad bit jealous.

It was probably only a 10-minute walk, but Carrie stretched it into 20, and we arrived at the far side of the Grasslands a few minutes before the sun set.

As she promised, the Woodcock’s love calls started about 10 minutes later. It was just one at first, but soon they were taking turns. One would call from behind us. Then another to the right or to the left, and occasionally directly across from us on the other side of the meadow. I must admit, I started to wonder if it was just a couple of Woodcocks fucking with us.

There were a couple of frisky birds that flew across the meadow, but it was pretty dark at that point. I thought they were bats, but several in the group assured me they were Woodcocks. Chuck’s mega lens on his camera and binoculars, if I had remembered mine, were useless.

I didn’t see one do the “Sky Dance,” or at least as described in the materials Carrie shared during the pregame presentation. “The male bird “launches straight up into the air as wing feathers make a twittering sound. At 100-300 feet in the air, he hovers, flying in a circle, then begins his downward, corkscrew spiral.” But the guy next to me claims he did. I suspect he was trying to impress his date. (Imagine me doing an exaggerated eye roll.)

At that point, the rain clouds were moving in, and Carrie, our guide, was ready to herd her crew of bird enthusiasts back to the parking lot.

Alrighty, finally our night vision experience.

Then I remembered the holes in the trail I spotted on our way in. Now I was less focused on the ‘magic of nature’ and more on the high probability of tripping and breaking my hip. So my night vision experience probably wasn’t as much fun as Carrie had suggested it might be.

The big lessons learned: Patience is more than just a virtue when it comes to birding! And more importantly, keep your expectations low. Would I recommend the American Woodcock Program and Night Walk? Absolutely! Even using my night vision, I wasn’t in any danger of breaking my hip, but these are things you worry about at a certain age.

Removing the training wheels and graduating to the next level of birding was a bit bumpy, but I’m feeling better prepared so that I can hold my own with the “real” birders during the Audubon bird tours.

What about you? Do you have any advice for a fledgling birder looking to level up?

The latest Life Michigan Podcast episode is out!

If you have an idea for a guest, email me (info@lifeinmichigan.com). We are looking for anyone who is creative, passionate, and has a story to share about their Life In Michigan. Don’t be shy.

The latest episode of Fans with Bands just dropped!

Music Notes With Nuno - Wrong Way Rockers: Peninsular Metal

A few new articles on LifeInMichigan.com. Click on the image to read the whole article.

GIG The Art of Michigan Music’s April Newsletter is out and packed with details about the visual artist and sponsors.

GIG 2026 - Meet The Visual Artists

🗓️ Never Miss an Event: Chuck has been hard at work on our public Google Events Calendar. From book launches to local gigs, it’s all there. Subscribe to the Calendar

You’ll find things like this on the calendar!

Come watch Chuck and me show off our new improv skills at our class showcase at Hear.Say Brewing and Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Tuesday, May 5, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM. While you are buying tickets to our show, check out the slew of other shows they have coming up.

This event is FREE to attend, but donations are welcome. RSVP here.

I recently found JJ Rose’s Substack, “Inside the Outside.” I thought he recommended Lisa Cron’s “Wired For Story,” but I’ll be damned if I can find the article. It could have been Linda Caroll who recommended the book. All her stuff is amazing, especially her April 10th newsletter, “The journey of a writer isn’t what you think.” She was definitely the one who turned me on to Charlie Finch’s work. If you read just one new Substack, read his “Put your stick out.”

Anyway, thank you to whoever recommended Lisa’s book. I’m devouring it now. And if you like travel writing, JJ Rose will be your new favorite Substack.

Book Review

I’m a huge fan of Erik Larson. I LOVED the “Devil in the White City!” So when “The Demon of Unrest” was suggested for our book club, I requested it through Libby. I was like 400th in line, so I thought it would be a hot minute. But a few days later, I got a notification that it was available, so I hopped on it.

In Erik’s note to his readers, he says:

“I invite you now to step into the past, to that time of fear and dissension, and experience the passion, heroism, and heartbreak—even humor—as if you were living in that day and did not know how the story would end. I suspect your sense of dread will be all the more pronounced in light of today’s political discord, which, incredibly, has led some benighted Americans to whisper once again of secession and civil war.”

Throughout the entire book, I kept thinking about this opening passage. I was rooting for Major Anderson (the officer in command at Fort Sumter), hoping, in this telling of the story, for a different outcome! There were some humorous parts, too. Shocking, given the topic. And yes, Erik is on point; my sense of dread is more pronounced. As they say, history repeats itself.

Have a great week!