Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Woodcock search

A buddy and I spent the last couple days search for woodcock nests. It would normally be a little early except winter never really showed up so spring was early. We found 7 nests in two afternoons Floating the eggs predicted hatches as early as the last few days of this month to the first few days of May to the second full week of May.

I probably won't get back up there to find the chicks but my buddy will. I'll do my search down here where I have a few nests already found as well as search for new broods. Even when one knows where to start a search, it can be hard to find the broods. It takes a dog with a very discerning nose and a fair bit of experience/bird sense to find a brood. There is a fairly short window to catch them before they begin to fly.

I don't know much about them but I would love to hunt them. Me and Dad killed a few while quail hunting around 1980 here in SC. They liked wet areas in thick river birch and populars. I haven't seen one in decades. They are good eating for sure.

That is a classic habitat type for those birds. One can also run into them in more wooded/upland areas though in lesser numbers unless it is during the fall migration where the migrants seem to use this type of cover for resting. When I was pursuing my goal of hunting over my dogs in every state, woodcock was the primary bird in the east. Quail and grouse were nearly non-existent and it was discouraging to have contact rates in the 1-2 per day range when that per hour is a poor day here. It was a fun experience though.

These days I'm not as serious of a bander as my buddy, he does in a single spring what I now do in maybe a half decade, but I still get a few broods locally. Except for the ticks it is a good time and it will be even better as the mushrooms pop up. Morels should be emerging in the next week or so down here.

Woodcock are great for Dog work development. Especially when you catch the flight and can get 100 plus contacts a day. I shoot a few for the Dog, but find them hard eating.

Harry, I was going to ask, in all honestly, are these dark-meated birds who suck down earthworms for a living, palatable on the table? Much less, a delight on the table?

I’ve never hunted them or eaten them.

George,
A couple go a long way. I would have to be extremely hungry to want more than two occasionally. Even if they were wrapped in a half pound of bacon. Then again, I’m not the best cook..

As dad always said, cut out the middle man ( the cock ) and just eat a pound of worms.

I cannot eat them. No matter what they are smothered in.

I think they are good to eat.

Woodcock can be good to eat, you just have to know what you are doing. Over cooking is common and is as ruinous to taste as serving a venison steak well done. Preparation and fixing is more on the order of wild waterfowl than upland game.

Woodcock can be used as a main dish but I tend to use them mostly as an appetizer. My favorite recipes as a meal I received from a target setter from England but they are rather time consuming and expensive to make. As appetizers I either grind them into a spread to use on bread or crackers or I bake them using a light mustard glaze.

To those who question the woodcock's diet, have you ever seen what a chicken eats? They are far less picky than a woodcock and it would be far easier to to list what they won't eat. That is common for all Gallinaceous fowl for that matter.

I wish you hadn’t brought up the subject of what chickens eat…😜

I still like chicken. 😀

We use to find them in March by listening for the “pweenting” at dusk.

I was going to mention what is given animals in feedlot operations but felt the chicken reference was enough.




If one watches closely they will see that the males will return to nearly the same place after each "Sky dance". If one moves immediately after the male takes off and stops before he begins his descent, one can work their way to within feet of the bird. I know at least one person who was able to net a male for banding in this manner. That was quite an accomplishment not only for the stalking abilities but also that males are rarely banded once they begin flying. At that point they get banded either with mist nets or by night netting. I'm pretty sure the latter was inspired by the trick of "snipe hunting" at night; in the rain; with flashlights (spotlights); and a fishing net rather than a gunny sack. The redeeming feature is this is done early enough in the year mosquitos aren't an issue.

There flying migration is a wonder of nature....Not so sure about their getting around on the ground...

I don't think woodcock do the rocking walk only when they think they are being observed, I've seen them do that from a distance when I was sitting on a bear stand and I'm positive the bird had no idea I was there. The thought the bouncing is done to confuse the woodcock's prey seems more plausible.

It might be a surprise to many but woodcock will run out from under a point. They aren't as fast nor will they go as far as a pheasant but I've watched them go a good 20 yards before sitting down. They are very interesting to watch doing this, they fully extend their legs and waddle off like a person on stilts. Or, the aliens from the War of the World movies.

To me a Woodcock is the very same size and flavor as Mourning Dove.

A good day in the field....



Plus a few nips at the truck...



Means some excellent table fare later on...Cooked rare in olive oil on buttered toast wedges with salt & pepper.

Looks good! And a classic appetizer! I prefer homemade sourdough or a very mild rye bread though a buddy insists on using pumpernickel or other heavy dark bread. I like toasting as the butter melts and soaks into the bread. Adding a little garlic to the butter can be pretty good too.

Butter quality is important too, a cheap butter does not do the bread or meat justice. The best I've found is a home churned butter from the local farmer's market but it is tough to get due to low volume and high demand in spite of the price. The best store bought I can find locally is some Irish butter which is 3-4x the price of the more common brands but not near the home churned in taste. Dang, I'm getting hungry!