Where’s the Woodcock?

The sun warmed the south facing slopes.

      It is that time of the year when bird hunters in our neighborhood start asking, “Where’s the woodcock?”

      It is nice to see the little russet birds arrive, because then you know spring has arrived. Usually the robins show up about the same time. Geese will be flying overhead or collecting in the fields. In the river, ducks will be paddling about in the backwaters. But woodcock? If you are lucky you might see one flying about dusk, but usually you have to go looking for them.

Maggie running ahead on a logger's skid trail.

      South facing slopes have bared up around here and near hillside seeps are a good place to look. I strapped on snowshoes and took Maggie, our younger German wirehair, out for a trek a couple of days ago. 

      On the flat of the valley floor a foot of hard snow made for easy snowshoeing and formed bridges over the numerous small brooks that appear every spring. The ground on the hillside that created the north side of the valley was almost completely free of snow. I hiked and Maggie hunted hard, until the valley dropped over a ledge into another valley thirty feet below. No way could a man get down that ledge except on his backside.

      We swung around to hunt the other edge of the valley, but no woodcock or grouse. I thought we might even find a shed antler, but no luck.

      It was one of those days. We will try again another day.

Water could be heard gurgling everywhere.

44 Degrees

     Two weeks ago we had four consecutive days where the temperature climbed well into the forties. That is rather unusual for February at this latitude. Of course it got everyone pumped up imagining spring right around the corner. Then we had about fourteen inches of medium density snow and temperatures below zero. So much for winter being over.

Snow fleas.

     Now we are into March and the weather is fickle as ever. Today the high was in the upper fifties and the roads looked like mud season was here. Maybe it is. Mud season is a mixed blessing and a sloppy harbinger of spring. On south facing slopes patches of bare ground indicate warmth. Looking at snow closely you might find snow fleas (yes, they really exist, google them). A robin showed up over a week ago and two mourning doves were pecking at sand in the road in town. Everything points to the arrival of spring weather, which is more than two weeks early.

     So where are the woodcock? That’s what every bird dog owner wants to know. For a week or two after their arrival it is great fun to hunt them with the dogs. Of course there is no shooting involved, but it is fun to see the dogs work after the long winter. Their excitement it infectious.

     Recent research indicates that the woodcock nest fairly soon after arriving and that a woodcock scared off her nest will re-nest, but she will have less than the usual four eggs to hatch. So this spring hunt of woodcock is a very short affair, and then the dogs must wait until both the woodcock and grouse young are hatched and grown before the dogs can hunt them again.

     Do you know if the woodcock are here?