After two weeks they can fly short distances, and at the end of four weeks they're almost fully grown, fly strongly and look like adults. The family breaks up when juveniles are 6-8 weeks old. As days grow shorter and temperatures drop, timberdoodles begin to head south. They typically travel alone. Heavy northwest winds and cold nights may start large numbers of timberdoodles winging south.
Wildlife biologists believe that woodcock have several migration routes.
Most woodcock nesting east of the Appalachian Mountains, appear to winter mainly in the south Atlantic states. Woodcock breeding west of the Appalachians are thought to winter in Arkansas, Louisiana and other Gulf States. Woodcock are hardy and seem able to recover from injuries that would kill most other birds. If a timberdoodle reaches adulthood, its life expectancy is about 1.8 years. Banded wild birds seven years old have been recovered.