As the three of us walked among alders, firs and tamaracks in a farm field gone to second growth, our four-legged companion scouted ahead. The well-trained pointer worked close to us as we explored the brushy cover, flashes of white and the tinkling of his collar bell giving us his location.
When the bell suddenly went silent, the dog’s owner loudly said, “Point,” and the two more experienced wingmen moved quickly forward toward a stationary spot of white fur.
Being a rookie to this particular game bird and method of gunning, I arrived late to the party. Both of my companions jockeyed for an open spot to shoulder and swing a shotgun while I stood mesmerized by the noisy, erratic flush.
A small, brownish, feathery blob of feathers with a long bill rose, seeming to levitate straight up through bushes and branches like a helicopter. After a split second of level hesitation, the woodcock rapidly winged away as two shotgun blasts knocked down leaves, branches and tamarack sprills, but not a feather was touched.
Area bird hunters are enjoying excellent results this month, and Maine’s smallest quarry is offering up big excitement. Woodcock are migrating game birds that move through our region in waves as they leave Canada for warmer southern climes.
They are odd-shaped, long-billed, big-eyed birds with feathers that offer a perfect fall camouflage among the leaves and dead grass. Their surprising flushes, fast and unpredictable flights through brush and tree tops and their here-one-day, gone-the-next travel patterns drive hunters crazy, and keep them coming back.
Northern quail and timberdoodle are two nicknames given to this little bird that is related to a shorebird, the snipe, and is itself transplanted from the sea shore to upland country. Many sportsmen will not hunt woodcock, nor will they waste a shell on a game bird that weighs less than half a pound and requires three to make up a meal.
For pure wingshooting sport, few game birds offer so much challenge and enjoyment.
Old farmsteads and fields allowed to go to second growth are excellent woodcock locations. Nature’s reclaiming of farmland offers perfect timberdoodle cover, but such spots become too overgrown for the bird in three to five years.
Alder runs are one of the best spots to locate woodcock, especially when interspersed with young pine and cedar. Stands of poplar trees and brushy shorelines of streams and bogs are top rate as well.
Goldenrod often indicates good woodcock areas. Experienced sportsmen recognize when good covers turn to run-of-the-mill woods. Aroostook abounds with great covers for visiting woodcock, and generally a good spot can be located within a half hour of most hunters’ homes.
There’s little question that the most productive woodcock outings are accomplished with dogs since the tiny game birds hold well for points. Non-pointing, retrieving dogs such as Labradors and springer spaniels will flush birds, but the key is to have them hunt close. Given the thickness of most covers, a dog 30 yards away is probably completely out of sight and the flushed bird will too quickly be out of gun range.
The true joy of woodcock hunting is walking behind a well-trained pointer or setter, and Brittanys and German shorthairs are very popular too.
Bird hunters can successfully find woodcock without dogs. Although they have the ability to run away, timberdoodles prefer to hold tight and let danger pass. Birds will flush when closely approached or if they feel they have been spotted.
Although a few birds may be flushed by walking straight through a cover, meandering and ambling a round-about course with stop and go movement will bring up far more woodcock because it causes them to be nervous and flush.
When solo hunters drop a bird and there’s no dog to retrieve it, locating the well-camouflaged woodcock in the leaves can be difficult. Always follow the bird’s flight path closely after a shot.
Guns for woodcock hunting are a very personal choice, but most enthusiasts choose a 20-gauge and use size 7 ½ or 9 birdshot. Shots are generally close, so improved cylinder or modified chokes are excellent choices.
Thick brush can soak up a lot of shot, but the small game birds don’t require many pellets to bring them down. Short barrel, lightweight shotguns are preferred in the heavy cover since they swing quickly and easily.
Woodcock season ends Nov. 19, and hunting is peaking right now as hoards of flight birds are stopping over to feed throughout Maine. Many nearby covers are producing six or eight flushes per outing and a couple of days later a new bunch of woodcock arrive
It’s been more than 50 years since my premier woodcock hunt that started this story and I watched the unique flush instead of shooting. Years of wonderful hunts for Maine’s smallest game bird have improved my shooting reaction, but I’m still in awe every time a timberdoodle takes wing.
Newcomers to the sport will soon become enthralled with this small quarry, and the fast action it provides.
