10 cool Canadian birds that belong that belong on every wingshooter’s bucket list

#10  WOODCOCK

Unlike most upland birds, woodcock flush by taking off vertically, shooting up like a rocket before zooming away parallel to the ground, dipping and diving among trees. And there are always trees wherever you find woodcock, or timberdoodles as they’re also known. In fact, it’s been said you’re not in good woodcock cover if you can walk 50 metres without losing your hat to a tree limb.

Woodcock are tweeners in that they’re hunted much as you would traditional upland game birds, but they’re migratory, just like waterfowl. In the world of ornithology, woodcock are actually considered shorebirds, despite their preferred habitat of dense brush and alder thickets. In Canada, they’re a bird of the East, found from southeastern Manitoba to the Atlantic seaboard.

I’ve hunted woodcock only once, in New Brunswick’s Miramichi River region, and it was a humbling experience. I heard, but didn’t see, the first couple of woodcock we flushed, then saw the next three, but didn’t react quickly enough to get off a shot. I finally managed to unload a Hail Mary or two at the next few birds. By the end of our first day, in fact, my hunting partner and I had 12 flushes, but only one bird to show for our efforts. Fortunately, the second day was more rewarding, as we were better prepared for their erratic flight pattern; by waiting to shoot until the birds had levelled off, we managed to drop eight or nine. Humbling as it was, I can’t wait to do it again.