Leader: Stephanie Mason In his Sand County Almanac, conservationist Aldo Leopold described the dramatic mating display of the American Woodcock as a “sky dance.” As dusk falls, the male flies into an open area and announces his presence with nasal “peents”. When he finally lifts off the ground, his wings create a mechanical twitter as he circles upward high in the sky. As he plummets back to the ground in a series of zig-zag movements, he issues a lovely liquid warble…and then the aerial dance begins all over again. On this field program to a natural area in upper Montgomery County, MD, we’ll hope to be lucky enough to catch a performance of this seasonal drama.