Woodcock in Manhattan

A little Maine woods action in the big city

The following excerpt came from a client’s email this week.  He has been upland hunting with us for the past four or five seasons and has the bug.  Only upland hunters understand.

”…so, I was a little early to work this morning and decided to have a coffee a sit outside for a few minutes before heading upstairs.  This being lower Manhattan, two blocks from the world trade center and the stock exchange, green space is at a bit of a premium, so I ducked into the nearest thing, a cemetery next to Trinity church.  Well about 50 steps in, just as I reached the middle, a bird flushes up at my feet, arm’s length away.  A woodcock!  Then another, and another!  I moved 5 freakin’ woodcock in a little postage stamp of green in the citiest part of the whole city!  It was practically a religious experience!  My coworkers couldn’t quite understand my enthusiasm, so I just had to share.”

It is still early March and the season for chasing upland birds in Maine is more than half a year away.  For many the experience  of being in the Maine woods on a cool October day with bright blue skies and the brilliant colors of the sugar maples and aspens, is one that will draw them back to the woods over and over – even in the middle of winter in Manhattan.  The whimsical woodcock or timberdoodle as some know him- is making his migration north as we speak- from his winter haunts in the Gulf States.  The males come first, staking out breeding territories in fields and woodland openings.  They will sing and dance for a few weeks with hopes of attracting a mate, nesting and raising their young.  It is a true sign of spring when you hear the nasally call and whistling wings of the woodcock’s sky dance at dusk and dawn.

Learn more about upland opportunities at www.weatherbys.com