I got back to New Hampshire in the wee hours of Monday after driving straight through from Kentucky. The woodcock in Kentucky had already hatched as I had dogs point a hen with four tiny chicks and an empty nest in another location. It’s been cold here at home with two mornings in single digits (coldest morning was 3) but last night it was just warm enough for the woodcock to be singing (it needs to be above 40 degrees). Last year when I got home there was a male singing right behind the garage in the new cut we did. Last night I stepped out on the porch just at dusk and he was back. He didn’t peent very enthusiastically or for very long. Last year we had at least one brood of woodcock up on the hill behind the house. Hopefully there will be more this year as the cover starts to grow back. Weather forecast calls for a warming trend over the next 10 days and there’s no snow in the woods. Should be a good nesting season for the woodcock and hopefully the grouse.
Woodcock nest from a few years ago.