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Here in November? The Challenges of American Woodcock Migration and Identifying Stopover Habitats in the Southeast

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by Durrell Smith As we walked the trail into what seemed to be a never-ending mess of vines, thorns and briars, the question of traversing such nasty cover was disregarded. This was happening. Even more important to ask myself was, “Where was that last woodcock here in November?” Every year, the American woodcock undertakes a perilous migration journey, subjecting themselves to multiples challenges as they journey thousands of miles between their summer and winter ranges. As a southeastern woodcock hunter, I often think about how to better identify their stopover habitats in the Southeast. Yes, migration is a critical period in the...

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When Snow Falls

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by Tom Keer Photography by Tim Flanigan The rain poured down for three straight days, and it wasn’t a mist or a pitter-patter on the tin roof. It was consistent, like the rinse cycle at a carwash, and the noise from a fire hose-worth of water on the metal echoed throughout the cabin. A faucet drip can be irritating, but the drone was maddening. Mercury hovered in the high 30s, and that was the only saving grace. But the winds were shifting, and that meant the temperatures would drop soon. When they went below freezing, there would be snow in the...

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24 Ways to Miss a Woodcock

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Respect for a gamebird born from the tribulations of crazy flight and thick cover. by Jay Hanson Originally published in Covers magazine – Spring 2019 We’re all introduced to bird hunting in various ways. If wealth is measured in long-haired bird dogs and access to an abundance of wild birds, some of us are born into fortune. Others were introduced into wingshooting later in life by being invited to a posh Dakota pheasant lodge, maybe a corporate shindig or by a fast-talking brother-in-law. In my neck of the woods, my dad and his cohorts made up a small circle of hunters that walked...

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Following RGS/AWS Comments, Fish and Wildlife Service to Open Woodcock Hunting on Erie National Wildlife Refuge – RGS

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On Tuesday, September 10, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced a final rule to open or expand hunting opportunities on a number of National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) as of the 2019-2020 hunting season. During the public comment period as part of this regulatory review, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS) submitted Federal Register comments on August 12 asking for Erie NWR to be opened up for hunting American woodcock. Providing this opportunity for woodcock hunting was among the changes made by the Service, though only up to 40% of the area within NWRs may be...

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Woodcock | A Gateway to the Uplands

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Photo Credit | Michael Furtman

Highlighting the cooperative and welcoming nature of a truly amazing little bird.

We were wrapping up the afternoon, myself and hunting partner, also Mike, winding our way through likely cover on our rough course back to the truck. We each had a handful of chances at birds, my partner had brought one to hand. I was new to this, well, not new to woodcock, but new to southern, migratory woodcock. 

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