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Have any of you folks ever shot a banded woodcock? I lived in the U.P. for years and hunted areas where I knew they banded them and yet I have never harvested one. I have been chasing grouse and their long billed friend for 60 years, so it is not a lack of effort, and I must have witnessed or harvested close to a 1,000 of them.

Good Hunting,
Mike

Chicago,

I have hunted Grouse and Woodcock all my life and have only killed one banded bird, that is in over 55 years of upland hunting. Percentage wise there are not that many banded birds, in reality you are lucky to actually shoot one, it's like winning the lottery in reality.

It is truly a lot of work banding the Woodcock.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Joined: 25 Jan 2014 Posts: 229 Location: MN

No, I have never shot a banded woodcock, but my sample size is much smaller.
However I hope to have a brood or two banded on our property this spring. We have a biologist friend with S. Munsterlander who bands them. Hopefully we can make it work this year.
We have an old hayfield that is being overtaken by willows and alders. We see woodcock there pretty much the entire snow free season.

Joined: 31 Jan 2019 Posts: 55 Location: Idaho

I have hunted waterfowl since I was 12. During the late 90’s and early 2000’s, mallards were plentiful during the winter here.
I hunted for almost 10 years 3-4 days a week from Thanksgiving to end of the season in late January. Shooting a limit was never much of a problem back then.
We hunted later in the season to reduce the number of local pinny birds we shot. Plus most of the fair weather hunters were done when the temps got cold and the rivers ran slushy.
I have only shot one banded mallard in all those years.
I think a lot of the problem is the mountain flyway is not a major one and is not studied like the other major ones are?

Joined: 14 Feb 2017 Posts: 401

I used to hunt a lot of waterfowl before I lost my lab. Only every recovered 2 bands. both on geese. One had been banded locally. One in Canada. Never knew they banded woodcock or quail.

couple of Ducks , a couple Geese , no others ... would be interesting to see if the Banders ever got any info back on the banded birds . All the Ducks/Geese were from Canadian banders . Very willing to talk about the operations even back in the days before social media eaze !

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

I hunted woodcock pretty regular back in the 1980's and early 1990's. Never harvested a banded bird.

I did kill a banded goose, back in the late 1990's.

Joined: 07 Sep 2011 Posts: 567 Location: wheeling, wv

Mike, I shot a banded woodcock in Iron county, over by the airport outside of Crystal Falls, near HorseRace Rapids. I sent the info to the professor at NMU in Marquette who was doing reasearch and banding. He sent me a very nice letter which I kept with my hunting journals( darn, cant remember the guys name).
Harold
PS: yes, I still have the band

Several years ago, this photo circulated on facebook (someone sent it to me. I am going to the end without getting on fb). I would guess it was somewhere in the north, maybe MI, where birds are often banded. Most banded birds are shot near where they were banded. The man's face is cropped.

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While I realize they don’t band all that many birds I am surprised that the group has only harvested two banded woodcock. But, when I think back on it none of my friends in Marquette have ever harvested a banded bird and we all hunt in areas where they still actively band today. I thought the southern hunters might have got a few as they make their way south every year.

Good Hunting,
Mike

Joined: 19 Apr 2014 Posts: 429 Location: Maine

Shot 2 with bands and transmitters. Local study in Maine.

VERY few waterfowl bands for me
1 Goose 4 Duck

skeettx,

If those were Woodcock bands you would be the man!

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man