After work, we headed off to Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve in Westchester (a western suburb of Chicago) to join a walk led by some folks from the Chicago Audubon Society. The purpose was to view the courtship flights of the American Woodcock. Though we heard several of the birds peent-ing in the grass, not a one flew into the air. Kind of a drag after a long haul to the burbs, especially since we didn’t really have the time for it. (We’re busy getting ready for our trip to the Texas coast this Friday.) We did see some BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS before it got dark, and — this is truly amazing — I didn’t make a single dirty joke about the word “woodcock”.