Overview
- An American Woodcock has become a pop-up attraction in Midtown’s Bryant Park as people gather to watch its quirky courtship dance.
- Birders quoted on site describe the visit as a short refueling stop during the species’ northbound spring journey.
- Spectators have set up chairs, used binoculars, snapped photos, and even copied the bird’s moves, which has sparked easy conversation among strangers.
- Park managers have leaned into the moment by selling caps with the bird’s image, even though the park’s regular birding tours were not needed to draw interest.
- The woodcock is a plump, well-camouflaged relative of sandpipers that makes a nasal “peent” call and taps its feet to coax earthworms, and it is not expected to nest in the city.