What does the American Woodcock sound like at night?
Press play. If that is the sound outside, you have your answer — the American Woodcock's "PEENT... peent... PEENT".
What you're hearing
The male gives a short, nasal, buzzy note from the ground at dusk. It sounds insect-like and a bit nighthawk-ish, carrying from a field edge or brushy opening.
“PEENT... peent... PEENT”
Birders often file this one under Peent (display call).
What time of night you hear it
The half-hour after sunset and again before dawn, in early spring.
Spring is the big show: males give their buzzy peent from the ground and then spiral into display flights at dusk. In fall, they slip south mostly at night, and in winter they keep to dense, damp cover.
Why an American Woodcock calls at night
A buzzy, insect-like peent from wet ground, then the male spirals hundreds of feet up on twittering wings and comes down chirping. It is a courtship display with a strict light-level trigger, so it happens in a narrow twilight window and almost nowhere else in the day.
What else could it be?
The other voices you are most likely to hear in the dark. Play them and compare.