By Mike Roche

This past Tuesday was a day of firsts experienced by this writer while woodcock hunting in Massachusetts. The season for woodcock, a webless migratory bird, opened Monday. Upland bird season—pheasant and ruffed grouse—will start in the Bay State on Saturday, Oct. 14. The earlier opening for woodcock occurs because the federal frameworks, which provide the parameters for seasons and bag limits to the states for migratory birds, allow 60 days for woodcock hunting. This includes ducks, geese, swans, mergansers, woodcock, rails and gallinules. Massachusetts gets compensatory days because the state does not allow Sunday hunting, and this puts the season well into November when most woodcock will have already migrated through the state. Starting on Oct. 2, the Mass season will conclude on Nov. 22.

Other New England states also open woodcock season early for the same obvious reason, with Vermont opening both woodcock and grouse on Sept. 30 and New Hampshire opening both species on Oct. 1. My pre-season plans first had reservations to stay and hunt in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, this week for three days and then were changed to stay with a friend in Jay, Vermont, and hunt there for the season opener. Life threw a few curves that included Covid symptoms but no positive test and other “pain-in-the-butt” developments, and it came down to a drive to New Hampshire on Sunday where it was discovered that most of the bird coverts this hunter visited along Route 119 just over the border in the Granite State 40 or 50 years ago are now developed or grown over. What a shock! More on that later.

So, Monday found the Silverado and two French Brittanys headed out on Route 2 early into a heavy fog cover. It had dissipated by the time we reached the covers and the season was underway. In a scene that was to be frequently repeated over the next couple of days, covers had unusually thick understory and lots of standing water. Running both dogs together, young Tessie was very excited and did not hold the first woodcock she encountered. The veteran Laney did find and hold a woodcock, but the thick cover (in another oft-repeated scene) prevented me from getting to her without flushing a woodcock that left unseen. There were two “finds” by Laney that, judging from the beeping sounds emitted by both dogs’ SportDOG 1875 Upland Hunter collars, Tessie backed solidly. A third find took me over five minutes to get to, but both dogs were solid when the woodcock flushed and was instantly swallowed up by the leaves. A second cover, now using the Garmin TT25 GPS collar with Laney hunting solo, resulted in two long points over 50 yards away in the thick alders, but she held both and two nearly impossible shots proved that the new Beretta Veloce can miss. It was warm out and difficult but the three of us returned to Orange after noon quite tired.

That brings us to day two. Local covers were also incredibly thick and wet. We found birds in most but not what this writer expected. Granted, the ultra-thick understory does make scenting and locating birds very challenging for the dogs, and the birds have quite possibly relocated to drier habitats nearby. Mid-morning, we visited a local cover that I joke usually requires a blood transfusion. The brambles and briars are so thick that progress comes with a price. It was Tessie’s turn, and she struggled a bit and then the Alpha 10 vibrated and buzzed and displayed the image of a pointing dog. She was less than 30 yards away and soon was visible on point in a relatively clear spot. She held and the woodcock offered a glimpse and the Ruger 28gauge Red Label did what it has done so many times. The bird went out of sight, but it felt good and sure enough she found the bird for her first woodcock. Like so many bird dogs, she was not eager to pick up this first woodcock, but that will come. She then solidly pointed a second woodcock as we were heading out of the thicket, so it was all good.

The next stop had Laney pointing before the gun was loaded and she relocated over 20 yards before the woodcock flushed too close to the road to shoot. A nearby second bird got out unscathed as well and with the temperatures rising, we called it a day. Almost back to the truck, my quick senses realized that there was nothing on my left wrist where my Apple Watch had been while driving to the cover. Time to go to the Find my Device section of the iCloud.com site, right? Well, as my luck would have it the watch was offline, so tracing and finding were out of the question. Guess what I am getting for my birthday?

So, first woodcock of the year, first-ever woodcock for Tessie, first bird using Garmin Alpha 10/TT25, and first lost Apple device. Making memories.

What this writer would really like to do is get Tessie on some grouse before we head to New York later in October. Looking for covers in New Hampshire an hour or two up the state. Paying the price for spending so much October every year in New York. Anyone know any New Hampshire upland hunting guides?

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.