Upland Chef

Woodcock in Two Courses

- GORDON HAMERSLEY

“The woodcock is a living refutation of the theory that the utility of a game bird is to serve as a target or to pose gracefully on a slice of toast,” says Aldo Leopold in the “Sky Dance” essay of his classic A Sand County Almanac. He adds, “I must be sure that come April, there be no dearth of dancers in the sunset sky.”

I totally agree.

Nothing introduces spring to New England more distinctly than the initial peents of the male American woodcock engaging in the sky dance. The birds’ migration north starts in early March, and the sight of the romantic dancers is so exciting it can instantly turn a once innocent bird hunter into an enthusiastic voyeur.

One chilly March evening, friends Bill Reid, Chief Ranger for The Last Green Valley; Steve Broderick, retired Extension Forester, University of Connecticut; and I walked to a protected property up our road to find a good spot to observe. Steve had been grooming the area with woodcock in mind for years.