Christmas Gifts- Ode to the Woodcock

 I drew Dad's name for Christmas-- one of the hardest guys to shop for. He's the nature guy that has everything he wants, and if he doesn't, it isn't something you can just go buy... at least not with my budget. So I asked him what I could give him. An ornament? Socks? A pin or something he could put on his hat? He suggested maybe a creative T-Shirt.

It didn't take me long to figure out what he would get: a technical "T" featuring one of his passions: The American Woodcock.  It's a bird he's spent much of his life hunting, banding, counting, discussing... He even gets together with people from across the country to celebrate the bird, where everyone brings as many wings as they can get, and they all sit down and count feathers. Sounds pretty boring, but by counting feathers they can learn how old the birds are, what sex they are, and ultimately what the population is doing and how we can keep the birds around.

When I looked for info on the sexing an aging the woodcock, the only source I could find was a guide written by the man I was doing this for, as well as a few of his friends. Serendipity.

My parents' Christmas card this year also mentioned Dad's woodcock banding fun, including a picture of a hen, and a nest of snowshoe hares the dogs pointed out. Oops. I couldn't resist- I added the bunnies to the shirt too. That way no one will get confused as to who the shirt belongs to!