The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-06-17
DO wooDcocK DECOY.


1 consider one of the greatest living
authorities on that fast vanishing
game bird, the woodcock, and before
the day was over had one of the most
novel experiences that has ever be-
fallen me afeld.
Our destination was some hills on
Long Island, about an hours run
from the city. For several days the
weather had been very cold, and when
we got afeld we found the ground
frozen so hard that walking was made
decidedly unpleasant, and to add to
our discomfort it soon began to snow
and sleet quite hard.
Without going into details of the
early part of our hunt, I will get
right down to my story. We were
approaching some hills where earlier
in the season we had had several days
of excellent woodcock shooting, when
my friend suddenly stopped and turn
ing to me said he would show me a
woodcock in few minutes, and he
was so positive in his statement that
1 simply laughed at him and told him
to go ahead, that I would have to see
the bird before taking any stock in
his statement.
Going up hillside, / went to the
right and my friend to the left; and
on account of the dense growth of
saplings and bushes we became sepa-
rated and I had almost gained the top
when 1 heard him call for me to come
to him; and when finally worked
my way to where he was standing, he
showed me some woodcock droppings
which were probably couple Of days
old. He then related to me the most
curious yarn I had ever heard about
this, the most mysterious of all our
game birds. He said that the bird
he was about to show me (for at no
time did he seem to be in doubt as to
his ability to show me the bird) was
a small, light colored cock that had
been on this very hillside all summer
and fall, ashe had found it there every
time he had looked for it, and he had
even seen it on the ground on several
occasions. He said further that he
felt positive that this bird had in
habited this very spot for the past
three seasons, and he made me promise
if flushed a bird and it proved to be
this small, light colored one, not to
shoot it, as he said he had refrained
from killing it himself. although he
had many opportunities to do SO, for
the reason that he considered it was
the "decoy" that had lured the other
woodcock to this hillside, and to kill
it would surely spoil our sport in the
future.
This latter statement made me
laugh outright, but my friend, who
is quite an old man and has made
study of woodcock for many years,
insisted that woodcock will decoy to
others, and in support of his theory
stated that he had known many birds
like the present one that lived in
certain spots year after year, and
while they were allowed to remain
undisturbed good shooting could al
ways be had close by, but as soon as
they were killed only an odd bird or
so would be found in that particular
locality.
Casting about, we soon found plenty
of sign, some of it apparently only a
few hours old, and ordering on my
dogs, two pointers, I saw them sud-
denly stiffen out side by side, and
calling my friends attention to them,
he said to go in. As I approached
the dogs a bird flushed to one side of
them and darted thirty feet or more
straight in the air, and quicker than
it takes to relate, had covered it and
fred. first / thought had missed
and was glad of it, for I had fred on
the impulse Of the moment without
giving thought to my promise, but
my old dog Bob stiffened out at the
foot of the hill, and going to him I
saw the woodcock lying on its back
dead.
Well, when 1 handed the bird to
my friend and he recognized in it the
bird he had been watching all sum-
mer and fall, at first no apology !
could make would be accepted and he
looked as though he had lost an old
friend. Then he said we would have
to suffer next season for what / had
done, as had destroyed the "decoy'
that had made our covert such a good
place for birds.
That my friend knows the bird and
its habits thoroughly I have had
many demonstrations, for he has
shown me birds every time have
been with him, and he claims that he
can find birds any time from theii
first appearance in the North until
they leave again for the South. Or
previous trip, in October, 1904, be
told me of bird which had been II
a certain hollow in high wood:
season after season for about FIVE OF
six years and when / doubted bird
would remain so long in any one
locality he took me to the place and
going direct to the spot mentioned
flushed a bird. This bird also hi
would not kill.
If my friends is correct in this theory
that an individual woodcock will come
season after season to certain locality
and there raise its young if left un
disturbed, might not this be one o
the principal reasons for the scarcity
of this bird in coverts where it wa
formerly plentiful and an excellen
argument against all summer shoot
ing, for we all know that good sho
with a good dog can, in July or Au
gust, clean out brood of woodcocl
in a very short time?-Co,rSsPondenc
in Forest and Stream.
"YoU ARE an hour late this morn
ing Sam"
Eyes, sab, I know it, sab.
| 11oxyo xyn11 9''