MARLBORO – The Monmouth County Audubon Society will sponsor an evening field trip to Big Brook Park, Route 520, Marlboro, in search of American Woodcock at 5:30 p.m. March 10. Participation is free.
The original 379-acre property that established Big Brook Park was formerly used as farmland for patients at the Marlboro State Psychiatric Hospital, which was across Route 520, according to a press release from the Audubon Society.
The Monmouth County Park System purchased the property, which once contained a piggery, a dairy farm and other agricultural operations, from the state in 1997, around the time the state closed the psychiatric hospital.
In 2010, the park system purchased an additional 36 acres, bringing the park total to 415 acres, according to the press release.
The park is named for Big Brook, which drains into the Swimming River Reservoir and contains forest made up of young wetland and maturing American beech, white oak, tulip poplar and hickory trees. The park has rolling fields made up of grasses, goldenrod and other perennials that provide a contiguous field habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife, according to the Audubon Society.
One bird species in particular is the target for the March 10 trip – the American Woodcock.
American Woodcock spend most of their time hidden in fields and on the forest floor where they probe for earthworms. On spring nights, however, their priorities change and attracting a mate becomes more important than remaining camouflaged.
Males advertise for a mate with a buzzy “peent” call. That vocalization signals the start of a courtship display.
The male takes flight and climbs from 50 to 100 yards into the air. He descends, zigzagging and banking while singing a liquid, chirping song. This high spiraling flight produces a melodious twittering sound as air rushes through the male’s outer primary wing feathers, according to the press release.
Participants will meet at 5:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Big Brook Park, just off Route 520. The field trip is open to members and non-members of the Audubon Society and participation is free. Advance registration is not required. Binoculars are recommended, and a field guide may be helpful.
For more information, visit http://www.monmouthaudubon.org or email [email protected]