You don’t need to be good at bird-spotting to track down the visiting American woodcocks currently holding court in midtown’s Bryant Park, right behind the New York Public Library. Just look for a large group of people all focusing eyes, phones, and cameras in one direction. These migratory birds show up once a year, from late March to sometime in mid-April, to poke long beaks into the park’s turf and inspire many a social media post with their bobbing dance moves.
Right now there is still a pair working the terrain, seemingly unconcerned with the paparazzi lining the path on the other side of a short wrought-iron fence. American woodcocks, nicknamed “timberdoodles,” are part of the sandpiper family, though they are forest residents rather than shorebirds. Their looks are engagingly cartoony, with extra-long beaks and extra-large black eyes set high and far back on their heads. Every shimmy inspires an oooh from the audience, with some folks showing impressive patience as they wait for the next performance, gazing intently at a stationary bird partly hidden in camouflaging leaves. One 20-something did remark, “This is the most underwhelming thing I’ve ever seen,” though she was apparently not underwhelmed enough to rule out getting a selfie with a background timberdoodle before moving on.
If you arrive during a dance lull, you can amuse yourself playing Bocce, getting up a game of ping-pong or chess, tossing the kid you dragged along onto one of the 14 hand-carved animals adorning the Bryant Park Carousel (there is an excellent rideable rabbit), relaxing with a borrowed book or magazine in the Reading Room area (including a children’s section), or just making your lunch and coffee choices at one of the park’s vendors (fancy waffles, sandwiches, salads).
A pair of native New Yorkers hang out with the center of attention.
Some waiting onlookers tried to motivate the birds to dance by bobbing encouragingly, while others seemed to enjoy an excuse to just be there, doing nothing but observing. As always in NYC, one of the great pleasures comes in sharing an experience with people from all over the world, as woodcock watchers pointed out the birds to each new viewer who stopped to ask what everyone was looking at, with those in the know enthusiastically imparting woodcock lore. One visitor, curious about why everyone was so excited about the bird preening before them, was told, “Because they are famous,” to which she responded, “All of the species, or just that one?” Her informant thought about it and then answered proudly, “Well, I know this one is famous.”
To spend time in a crowd of people from diverse backgrounds, speaking a number of languages and accent-inflected English, and to feel only exuberance and enjoyment in the air, is truly a gift these days. ❖
