Woodcock charge deer to defend nests, UMaine researchers find

by the University of Maine
June 30, 2026

American woodcock, short, plump shorebirds with long, thin beaks, are widely known for their bobbing stride and nasally “peent” calls, but not for being aggressive. Yet one April afternoon, when a deer sniffed around a woodcock hen’s ground nest looking for food, the hen lunged at it, scaring it away.

University of Maine researchers captured what may be the first recorded evidence of nesting birds aggressively driving away deer, revealing an unexpected defense strategy against a little-recognized nest predator. Their findings suggest woodcock can respond to deer in multiple ways, challenging the assumption that these large herbivores pose little threat to nesting birds.

Woodcock typically rely on their cryptic feathers, which act as camouflage, to avoid nest predators. They also deploy a “broken wing” display to lure predators away from their eggs or chicks.

In six instances during April 2024, however, five nesting woodcock in West Virginia chirped, postured, charged and even flew into approaching deer, UMaine researchers found. The deer either walked away or fled the area in response.

Keep reading: https://umaine.edu/news/2026/06/woodcock-charge-deer-to-defend-nests-umaine-researchers-find/

Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.70448