Woodcock
 

In a previous thread by Gary Laudermilch i mentioned finding a woodcock with 2 young in a yard of a house where i was working. The date was April 21. The photo does not show the yellow color of the chicks. Mom did the broken wing follow me act and the little ones hid and stayed still as she led us away. We watched from a distance as she came back and led them off showing them what to eat. Time of the whole thing probably 2 hours, all 4 of us still and watching.

I understand that it is possible to age the chicks by measuring their beaks. I don't remember the specifics, but they grow at 1/16" per day. Our woodcock banders in Mich age the chicks this way

The photo does not show the yellow hue to the very downy feathers, to get the true size look at the grass blades. They were the size of a grape and the mother was brooding them every 5- 10 minutes. I have a photo of that but have not been able to post it

Mom
 

Mom brooding.