doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Woodcock Sighting!

We have them in the Mississippi bottom lands but not many. I jumped two the last couple of weeks.

I've seen them here in Northeast Massachusetts in mid-February in the past... came up on the false warm Southern breezes that thawed everything out for a week or two... then it snows a foot with rain afterward and it all freezes hard and impenetrable for several more weeks and the early woodcock flights are reduced by half or more. It is truly sad to witness.

Daryl makes a good point. I don't think woodcock smell like other upland birds, and that makes sense if you consider that their diet is meat vs the mostly vegetarian meals of other upland birds (except insects, but that's mostly when they're chicks). I've often had to shoot a woodcock or two for my dogs before they figure out they're supposed to point them.

I recall running across one in central Iowa in mid-March, when I was working the dogs on a public hunting area and hoping to find a pheasant or two. There was a woody, marshy corner to that area, from which the woodcock flushed. Couple days later, we were hit by a late winter blizzard. Often wondered whether that little guy survived the storm.

I'd be very surprised to find any in northern Wisconsin right now. I decided to check my LP tank yesterday, and almost had to call 911 to help me out of a snowdrift.

We got a couple feet of snow last week here in the upper peninsula of Michigan so no woodcock here yet!

Always wonder when woodcock are discussed.Is it the"American Woodcock"- Philohela minor ,or the "common snipe"-Capella gallinago.Different species,but somewhat similar to many observsers.They are of the same family-Scolopacidae.

Given their differing preferences in food and feeding, habitat, cover, concealment, holding and flushing behavior, I'll leave the "how similar" to the observer.

NB: These were courtesy of a friend. He shot them on an epic day of mixed-bag bird hunting last fall, when he came up short on the "upland grand slam in a day" when he missed the grouse. He did get these, a nice cock pheasant, a turkey and a very befuddled dog.

dave: you ever try to eat dem thangs?

taste lik worms an blue jay tu me...

For the reasons Dave mentioned, I see them as two very different birds to shoot - although they do look alike. Funny story to 'illustrate' the confusion though;

I was talking to a buddy in Louisiana about shooting woodcock on his duck lease last year. We talked many times and finally arranged dates. I was really excited! A couple days before I traveled he sent me an email that basically said, "Oh, by the way, we call 'em snipe down here, not woodcock." Another phone call cleared up the confusion - shooting in the thin cover of cow pasture, just off the duck swamps - we were definitely shooting snipe, not woodcock.

Having said that, snipe are also great birds to test your patience and skill with a gun.

I think snipe are best cooked like chicken mcnuggets - deep fried with a tasty little batter. They make a great appetizer. Woodcock breasts in a wonderful homemade mushroom soup served over quinoa is one of my favorite meals.

Are there supposed to be Woodcock in Kansas? I spend a lot of time in the field and dont think I have ever seen one.Kansas has a season on them...We took a few in Iowa, when I lived there..

Should be some in eastern KS, Last Dollar. I read an article from the guy who was then the outdoor writer for the Omaha paper about hunting them along the Missouri. I'd shot quite a few in eastern Iowa but did not know about hunting them farther west. Drove out there and hunted public areas--mostly old chutes, often choked with willows--right along the Missouri on the Iowa side. Had what would have been a 3 species hunt. Killed woodcock, and also had quail and pheasants pointed--but the season on the latter two wasn't yet open. I think there's a pretty good migration route along the Big Sioux/Missouri etc between SD, NE and IA, and I expect they continue on south following rivers in eastern KS. I know they shoot them in east TX too.

Snipe are like woodcock with a jet booster. Same family, but woodcock moved farther away from the shore thousands of years ago. Sometimes you find them in the same places, but snipe seem to prefer wet and open, while woodcock like slightly damp and brushy.