The never-ending search for their primary protein source—worms—is what typically drives woodcock to migrate southward from Canada. (Photo by author)
September 25, 2024
By Tom Keer
Rowdy didn’t have a problem tacking down the woodcock in the alder hell we call the King’s Cover, but I sure was going to have a tough time connecting. The full-leaf canopy kept the September sun at bay, a seep ran down the middle, and that combination concentrated a ton of birds. If I were lucky, I’d fill my eight-bird limit and fish for New Brunswick Atlantic salmon for the rest of the day.
And so began another season of chasing woodcock from their northern breeding grounds to their southern wintering grounds, a rite of fall I look forward to every year. As always, I’d follow the flights as far as my wallet would allow.
PREFERRED HABITAT Woodcock favor young forests between 10 and 30 years old, with nitrogen-rich soil that attracts worms. Look for aspen, alder and poplar stands. Areas with seeps and feeder streams are solid bets, too.
Woodcock like edges, so any field that is rimmed with young hardwoods is a good bet. They’ll use the field as a landing strip and then move into the thicker cover for protection or feed. If it’s been a hot, dry summer and early fall, look for birds in covers with heavy canopies that preserve some of the ground’s moisture.
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Knowing that the woodcock’s average migration time is 25 to 30 days (see sidebar, page 72), we can get a handle on when they’ll arrive at different points throughout the region.
New Brunswick With a season opening on Sept. 15, you can get a jumpstart on your woodcock hunting north of the border. It’ll be hot and the cover will be thick, but the odds are high that the birds will have had no recent contact with dogs when you arrive. Historically, I’ve extended my season with a visit to the province during the last week of September. Grouse season opens there on Oct. 1.
Northern New England The Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge is a ’doodle hotspot in northern Vermont and New Hampshire during the third and fourth weeks of October. Maine’s Public Reserved Lands system consists of 37 parcels comprising 600,000 acres, and much of it attracts woodcock.
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Southern New England Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut are pretty well carved up. Pocket coverts of 5 to 15 acres are your best bets during the last week in October and early November. The larger state-owned lands in the Berkshires and northwestern Connecticut are good places to look, too.
New Jersey Cape May is an historic staging ground for woodcock, and the state has a split season. The first runs from Nov. 11 to Dec. 2, while the second season opens Dec. 14 and closes Jan. 2. Mid-December is a great time to hunt this southernmost point of the Garden State on the east side of Delaware Bay.
Woodcock almost always hold tight, making them worthy quarry for any dog that’s unafraid to wade into the gnarly cover the birds favor. (Photo by author) STAY AWHILE Finding food and lodging near great woodcock hunting isn’t always easy. The locations below, however, offer both, plus either a DIY or a guided approach to hunting. They’re all dog-friendly, and if they don’t have full dog kennels to house your pooch, they offer in-room options.
New Brunswick In order to hunt Crown Land in Canada, you’ll need to hire a hunting guide. While there are lots of excellent guides in the province, the ones at Upper Oxbow Outdoor Adventures in Sillikers (miramichioutdoors.ca) and The Ledges Inn in Doaktown (ledgesinn.com) are hardcore bird hunters who are in the covers working their own strings.
In the early part of the season, you’ll hunt resident birds. From the middle to late part, all the migratory birds that summered farther north in the Maritimes will push through. The daily bag limit is eight woodcock, but with the thickness of the covers, you’ll need both luck and skill to fill it.
Maine There are dozens of lodges that are part of the century-old, historic Maine Sporting Camp industry. Hunting out your door is part of the program, and with Maine’s active timber industry, there are always a lot of great covers to hunt. The Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge at the Eastern part of the state near the New Brunswick border serves as a breeding ground for woodcock. Bring your string and hunt on your own or go out with one of the guides at Weatherby ’s Resort (weatherbys.com) in Grand Lake Stream. In the Kennebec River Valley in the central part of the state, check out Grey’s Outfitting in Caratunk (greysoutfitting.com).
Many woodcock hunters prefer a side-by-side with short barrels, a splinter fore-end and an English stock. Many woodcock hunters prefer a side-by-side with short barrels, a splinter fore-end and an English stock. (Photo by author) New Hampshire Diehard bird hunters need no introduction to the northern part of the Granite State; it’s been a top destination for years. Lots of logging creates ideal covers, and when the migration begins, birds from the Gaspe Peninsula breeding grounds push through. Dogs are welcome, and both guided and DIY hunts are available. If you prefer the former, consider Tall Timber Lodge (talltimber.com) or Lopstick Lodge (lopstick.com), both of which are located near Pittsburg. The Connecticut River begins here as the discharge from Fourth Connecticut Lake.
Becoming a good shot on woodcock can be a challenge. The key is to wait until they reach the apex of their helicopter-like flight. (Photo by author) New York The Adirondacks have a long woodcock hunting heritage, and the Hungry Trout on the West Branch of the Au Sable River (hungrytrout.com) is certainly a part of it. Adirondack Park consists of about 6 million acres, so DIY hunts are common, but if you want to book a guide, the Hungry Trout has access to 20,000 acres of a young-forest lease that holds lots of birds. In the southern part of the Empire State, Catskill Park covers 700,000 acres, and West Branch Angler near Hancock (westbranchresort.com) has been catering to hunters and anglers for more than 30 years. The place has 30 cabins on the West Branch of the Delaware River.
RUNNING THE NUMBERS Telemetry studies have shed light on the habits of migratory woodcock.
Until a decade ago, most of the woodcock’s migratory information was anecdotal. Information was shared from one woodcock hunter to another, and those observations formed patterns that shaped our opinions and strategies. Although unscientific, what we observed about the birds and their migration was pretty solid.
However, thanks to recent telemetry studies conducted by the American Woodcock Society, the sister organization of the Ruffed Grouse Society, factual and scientific information has contributed to our understanding of woodcock behavior. Among the findings were these fascinating statistics:
Surveys showed that the average distance woodcock migrated from their breeding to wintering grounds was 870 miles. The longest migration of a bird was 1,500 miles from Maine to Alabama. Woodcock fly an average of 160 miles in a single night. The longest distance a bird flew in one night was 498 miles. Once a woodcock begins its migration, it takes between 25 and 30 days to complete. The fastest trip was a 6-day migration covering 1,100 miles from Maine to North Carolina.
Along its route, a woodcock typically stops four or five times. Woodcock do not migrate within a specific flyway. A bird might travel from Maine to Louisiana and later fly to Minnesota.
The woodcock’s average lifespan is just under 2 years. This article was featured in the September 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .
