Poor little woodcock!
Hopefully, he'll stay put in the vegetation, until he can take off again. He's probably just stunned. They are such neat birds! How sad that the woods across from you have been destroyed. :(

Wow! great photos. If you are near Houston Texas I had no idea this bird ranged that far south. I know they are a prized game bird north and east of me. Steve in Baltimore PS talk about camouflage.

I've had woodcocks in my field for a couple of years. For awhile, I thought they were nighthawks, since they sound similar. Every time I would try to find it on the ground, it would take off. Unfortunately.....I found one dead on my porch one day. Don't know what happened to it. Maybe it hit the window like yours did. Have you seen yours yet today?

I just saw the Woodcock again today! It is just chilling in the area by my ponds. I was standing on the rocks by the pond looking around, wondering where he was and stuff and there he was! about ten feet from me, looking up at me. This is a great way to start a new year of wildlife watching. If you would have asked me before what an American Woodcock was, I would have guessed it to be something like a pheasant or quail, maybe. Woodcocks, though, seem to be a totally unique species. I guess you could say they are like a shorebird or a snipe, but they don't occupy the same niche or habitat. I also read that they sustain themselves almost entirely one earthworms! I will admit that whenever it hit the window I, and I still did know what it was, thought that I may be having quail for dinner if the bird had expired from the crash. This guy though is too unique, rare to me, and way too friendly looking to eat. It is now my favorite inhabitant of the gardens. I was worried that he may have been injured and the coons would find him in the night. This morning I thoroughly inspected the area where he was, I found some white bird squirts, but he was no where to be found. I think I am gonna try to get some more pics, but I don't want to disturb him too much. He has been returning though all this week whenever I have stirred it.

Catherinet, have you ever seen them doing there arial dance or arial mating acrobatics, or anybody else?

I have seen the tumbling pigeons to similar displays, and as a kid I remeber seeing something like this, but I have no idea what it was.

I think it may be injured, because it only hops now and does not fly since the crash. Well, I have recovered from many injuries myself so maybe he will too. Who knows?

Please contact a local wildlife rehabber to help this bird. Don't leave it to *be okay* on its own if its injured.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to emergency bird care from the birdwatching forum

I second Laurahinnj about getting it to a rehaber. It would be a shame to lose this beautiful creature.

The mating ritual is great fun to watch or rather listen to since it's mostly done after dark.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mating ritual

Njtea......thanks so much for posting that link. That is a wonderfully informative site!
In early spring, we like to mow an area in the field that we've let grow up too much over the previous year. I have real concerns about mowing over any woodcock nests. It looks like it might be real hard for us to actually find them......so I think the mowing will have to wait!
I'm always amazed at how eary in the season I begin to hear their peeent calls. What cool little animals they are!
We have a fair amount of stray cats around here.....so I hope they don't find their nests.

We have dozens of them here in the lowlands around the house and once the weather gets just a bit warmer the beent calls are all around us. THey sound a LOT like a nighthawk, Cathy! Good comparison! The aerial display is really fascinating to watch, but it is usually done right about the time the light is starting to fail and the little buggers spiral so high that it's almost impossible to track them except by sound.
Does anybody know if the females 'beent' back in response? There are usually so many birds calling around here that I can't tell who's doing what.

I see them occasionally here in the deep south of coastal Mississippi. At both my parents one acre lot and at my acreage twenty miles north of here.

I think they like shady woods with lots of leaf litter.