Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-12-04
SHARING A woopcock FAMILY.
First the Sportive Father and Then Mrs.
Woodcock and the Little Ones.

Philor and Howard Seaver, young
sons of Farmer Zenas Seaver of Cool
baugh Township, last spring found a
| woodcock's nest close to swale in a
back lot, and on a moonlight even
ing they went over to see if the female
had got young ones yet. Just before
they had reached the nesting place the
boys saw the male cutting up queer
capers and making funny noises in the
air. The birds antics amazed them
SO much that they lay low and watched
him. The fact of the matter was the
woodcock was having a play spell
all alone by himself, while his wife
was sitting on her eggs in the moon
light. and this is the way Philor told
about it:
when we first saw the woodcock
he was going straight up, and he was
squalling out Pity, pity, pity, pityT as
loud as he could yell. When he'd get
up as high as barn he stopped sing
ing and flew round and round like an
auger. Up he went till we could jest
see him, and then down he come kind
of slow. All the way down he yelled
Sock, sock, sock, sock, sook!' and he
landed in bare spot where he'd
started from. Then he cried Beat
jest once, and then he swelled himself
all out like gobbIer, and strutted
around. He flew up and did the same
thing twice over, and me n Howard
lay on the ground and he didn't see
u.s."
The boys went home without soaring
the female off her nest but the next
day they found that she had four
youngsters. When the little wood
cocks were about a week old the bows
made up their minds to snare the ia
Their of the family while he was en-
joying one Of his evening play spells.
The moon was full then, the sky was
clear, and the youthful sportsmen stole
over to the haunts of the WoOdcock and
lay in wait for the male. Their snare
consisted of hammer handle, fifteen
feet of fish line, and good-sized bull
let. One end of the line was fastened
to the hammer handle and on the 9TH
er end of it the bullet was tied. Philor
held the snare.
By and by the woodcock marched
| out from the bushes to the same bare
spot and began to arrange his feathers.
Then he sailed upward and sang PITY!
pity! pity" just as the boys had seen
and heard him do on the first night,
and while he was up Philor crept near
er to the spot, with the snare all
ready. Pretty soon down came the
happy woodcock, and just as he yelled
| Beat" Philo let the bullet fly. 1t
made three or four revolutions around
| the woodcock's legs ard body, taugling
him ali up, and the lads rushed for
ward, caught the woodcock, and I'M
bound the line. They had previously
built large pen on a wet piece Of
ground, where the woodcock could dig
his own worms, and they took the bird
home and put him into it. He thrived
right along but now ard then he
moped and mourned for his family.
At dusk one night when the young
woodcocks were nearly a month old,
the mother bird coaxed them to 2
swaley spot not far from her resting
| place, and while they were all feeding
! the boys sprung a net over them and
captured the whole lot putting Them
into basket. Before it was dark the
lads turned Mother Woodcock and her
| I'VE little ONES lulO the male DlFu )
coop. Father Woodcock made a great
fuss over his wife, talking to her and
strutting around her, and she appeared
to be just as glad to see him. For a
day or two the young birds were shy
of the male, but by the end of the
week they knew him as we'll as they
did their mother, and from then until
Farmer Seaver made the boys turn
them loose they were as contented as
any of the domestic fowls on the farm.
-Scrd1at0n pa } Letter.