Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-21
WooDcocK SHOOTING SEASON
Migratory Habits Of the Bird-Various
State Laws.


/ During migration. Woodcock are fire.
| queptiy overcome by fatigue or cold
/ and drop down in the most incnn-
! grucus places, where they are often
ut the mercy Of heartless mcn and
boys, who cruelty take advantage OF
| their exhaustion and bewildermnnt.
During the great freeze in the South
in the winter Of 40 thousands of
wcoacock were killed by Negroes will
sticks an advantage of Il royal bird
that in the Businesses of his native
thickets and III the normal pride and
strength of his flight is good enough
for The most exacting sportsman. and
far too good for the selfish pot-hunter
| One who is quiet and observant NAV
! often come upon woodcock feeding al
| twilight on the edges of tfickets. In
! all seasons they are fond Of travelling
| in pairs; and this shas created a pre-
sumption in favor of the opinion that
HE same mates keep together year af-
! ter YEAR, Hidden deep i'll solitary and
| sequastered haunts by day Us the light
Wanes they will emerge from their
! slladcwy retreats. sometimes nying,
. but more often walking with that
| quick. crouChing. furitivy. nervous
/
game birds. They vii, be seen To- strut
about. - thrust their long pink bills
| up to the hilt' in the soft soil, and
SHAKE their round bullet heads IRON.
| side to side. sitting back on their short
| fan-tails as they draw them out Sc
| dately. IN the dusk it is Very easy
to lose sight Of bird until by some
movement he detacucs himscl: from
n cot IL.
server viii Sc" a Woodcock run his
bill down deWy blades of grass. suck
ing OF insects and drinking III, fresh ,
moisture. WOodcock are sudden and
speedy movers, changing their loca-
tion not only at the pert mptory no.
ticc Of the Weather, but also for rca-.
sons that We do not yet who'll under
stanu. Yet those who are reasona bic
III their expectations and faithful in
their s"archings are pretty apt to
find Woodcock shooting as fine as any
there is. Their range is so wide and
50 uncertain that no very definite di-
rectiOnS can be given for finding
them. But any sladowy watercourse.
any sWalnpy ithickct, any meadow
copse, or any bushsrown morass is
an apt shrine for these gorgeous wood
land hcrmitS
Certain conditions however. affect
ing WOodCock SHOOTING. in the various
states may here be stated. The laws
governing the season for woodcock.
vary more, | believe. than those con-
Corning any other game bird. They
rHn All the way from those of Mis-
souri,. hiCil offer no time when Ucnd-
co"k may be killed, 10 those OF Flori.
da, which. unfortunately. give rho bird
10 protection. The time was wien an
ooen season in the summer was gen
eral throughout the woodcock's range
Tor, according to reliable reports from
many sources. the woodcock migra-
ton IS apt to begin as early as the first
OF August. The present law i'm Ohio
WooHcock may be killed there from
Sept. ] until Dec. 4-seems to causo
great dissatisfaction by reason of the
comparative latcness of the upen sea-
Son. ~ majority OF the hunters con.
tending that migration is hepr1u long
prior to that time and that the greater
portion of the birds are gone
Woodeock are more plentiful in
Michigan than in any other state of
tl" Northern group: there the season
extends from Sept. to Jan. 1. In
the middle OF September until the first
Of December, Woodcock are found in
ldF abundance. especially along the
upper Mississippi. New York has IFS
open season during the months Of
October and November. though Oh
Long Island the season opens and
ct'scs q month later. Illinois permits
W"odcock shooting from the middle of
"A itC
ih1laha has an exceptionally long sea
SUI 'r"h July IL to Jan. /; and the
snort In that state is good. the best
hunting being afforded by the sec
ions adjacent to the Kankakec
marshes and the lake edges in the
northern PORTION. In Massachusetts
woodcock formerly bred plentif,lly in
ali counties, except Dukes and Nan
'ocket; but now they are said to be
rare as breeders. Flight birds arrive
~ iate october or early November
settling in the valleys watered by the
Connecticut river. The open season Is
oct 10 to Nov. 15, In New Jersey,
"here much excellent woodeock ground
= FURNISHED by. the swamps and where
Wooocock are fairly plentiful, hunting,
is permitted curing the latter half OF
November and the month of Decen-
h@r Most of the Southern states have
extended seasons: Alabama from,
Sept. ] to March 49, and, they hape'@
haen reported as appearing in that
state as early as the middle of Az
gust; in Georgia, Where a stricter law,
Is likely to be enacted during the pres
ent session Of the general ASSEMBLY.
the open season is from Nov. Is to
March Is. Practically all the states
provide for both resident and non
resident licenses, the former cost guide =
small, the latter averaging about sI.--
Archibald Rutledge in Golfers Week.