Steve,
What Chicago said is correct. I look for transition. That can be a hardwood line, meadow, firebreak, stream, etc. About a month ago in northern Wisconsin, the birds for some reason preferred to be under low hanging spruce. I was getting singles with a few rabbit for fun. A friend went 2 weeks later, the story had changed. He talked about shooting covey's of grouse. Go figure.
Where I hunt, north of Park Falls, there are a lot of maintained walking trails. During low cycle years, I would be busting a lot brush. This year, no need to leave the trails.
I did not see any woodcock this year. My friend only saw 1. I would use the logging roads. I would also mark them on a map or GPS, as they will make productive habitat in a few years if they are not maintained. When you do take a bird, be sure to open the crop. It will be easy to tell from the contents what they are feeding on.
Pete
