SHOOTING AX!) FISHES 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE FALL FLIGHT OF 
WOODCOCK.— -1889. 
The best type of sportsman is invariably some- 
thing of a naturalist. He cannot help asking 
himself certain questions regarding the flocks of 
migratory birds in spring and fall. Whence 
come they, and whither are they going? What 
makes them choose such and such a date each 
year? And many queries of a like nature. Some 
species seem to have a date, fixed and unalter- 
able ; others seem guided largely by the seasons. 
If the wild goose does not show up on March 
17 (the holy day of the blessed St. Patrick), 
the native of the fertile Province of Prince Ed- 
ward’s Island feels himself an injured man. It 
is only about once a generation that Anser Can- 
adense , can be accused of tarrying on the way 
up. He is sometimes ahead of schedule, but 
very, very seldom behind. Then, again, the 
grand rush south of the lesser migratory birds 
(finches, buntings, etc.,) has been proved, by 
investigations at the lighthouses, to take place 
during the first week in September each year. 
In spring they seem bound to cross the northern 
boundary of the United States about the begin- 
ning of April, even if they be decimated by a 
late frost, as often happens. All the feathered 
tribes, however, have not this peculiarity ; some 
seem to be guided by caprice, and foremost in 
this respect stands undoubtedly the woodcock, 
j It has long been an ardent desire of mine to 
get at the true inwardness of the woodcock’s 
migration, but, alas, I regret to say that I seem 
j as far from having this wish gratified as ever, 
j It came to my knowledge that there was a flight 
of woodcock along the New England coast on 
the 8th of last October. In order to discover 
what had induced this sudden migration, I wrote 
to the chief signal officer at Washington, D.C., 
for pressure, wind, temperature, etc., on the 
j night of the 7th, hoping thereby to be able to 
discover why that date was chosen for the great 
I migration of the year, fully ten days to a fort- 
night earlier than the usual period. I confess 
freely, that I expected the following conditions to 
I have existed : Bright, moonlight, cloudless 
■ night ; wind, north or northwest ; low tempera- 
I ture and high barometer. So much for theory ; 
: what do we find in practice? Chief Signal 
Officer A. W. Greeley, in his prompt reply to 
; my requisition for information, gives the follow- 
ing details for Eastport and Portland, near which 
centres some of the heaviest bags were got : 
Eastport, Me., Oct. 7. — 8 p.m., Bar. 29.651, 
Temp. 56°, Wind S.W., Cloudy. 
Portland, Me., Oct. 7. — 8 p.m., Bar. 29.679, 
Temp. 51°, Wind S.W., Light Rain. 
In other words, every condition was about 
diametrically opposed to those I imagined as 
probably existing and enticing the cock to a 
flight south. True, the moon was near her full, 
1 but this was nullified by the heavens being over- 
cast. It is quite evident that neither frost nor a 
favorable wind tempted the birds along the 
Maine coast on the night of Oct. 7, 1889. Yet 
on the 8th everv cover swarmed with them, and 
good scores were made from Calais to Rockland, 
and I believe in Massachusetts also. Had there 
been a heavy frost in the Provinces, I could well 
believe that many woodcock would have been 
driven to the seashore, but this was apparently 
not the case. 
without fear of flattery, that he knows probably 
as much about this subject, as any one man is 
allowed to. The result of his observations has 
led him to propound the following theory : 
When a flight of woodcock are met with by the 
gunner, these birds are not travellers from a dis- 
tance, but, on the contrary, are merely the 
locally-bred birds who are gathering together 
before migrating. I must own that this was en- 
tirely a new idea to me. Hitherto, if I have 
struck a flight, I have always asked, “Where 
did they come from?” It appears I should 
have questioned rather, “Where are they go- 
ing?” All other birds bunch before sailing; 
why not woodcock? Against this no valid ar- 
gument can be advanced that I know of. Of 
course, in Europe, the cock (a different bird) is 
often found in large quantities in the seashore 
covers of eastern England and other countries, 
worn to a skeleton and nearly exhausted, evi- 
dently having travelled far, but in New England 
is this ever the case? I, at least, have never 
seen it ; all those I have shot have been fat and 
vigorous, almost proving Mr. Smith’s theory. 
I once kept a woodcock in confinement (as I 
reported in the sporting press at the time) , and 
proved that a few hours’ abstinence reduced the 
bird to a skeleton ; and, as no bird can fly and 
eat, the fact that woodcock are usually in good 
condition proves, to me at least, that they have 
been stationary. 
Another subject we discussed at some length 
was, the route taken by the Province birds going 
south. Those bred in New Brunswick probably 
pass along the Maine coast, but hardly those 
hatched in Nova Scotia. The beautiful vale of 
Annapolis, N.S., is as famous for its woodcock 
shooting as for its apple crop, and the birds are 
there shot far later in the season than in New 
Brunswick. They migrate from Nov. 1 to 10, 
as a rule. The fact that the best shooting is 
over in Maine by Oct. 25, seems to prove that 
the Nova Scotia birds lay a straight course from 
Yarmouth for Cape Cod, and do not visit Maine 
in the fall. 
If any other gunner with naturalistic leanings 
wishes to add to my notes on this subject, the 
platform is at his service, and there are lots of 
his brother sportsmen, (although sitting in the 
back row) , who would rejoice to see such a one 
make a “hit.” c. A. b. 
All over the interior of New Brunswick wood- 
ock nest and rear their young. In fact, during 
[uly (if the law was off’), very heavy bags could 
>e made, but, after moulting, they disappear, 
md are never seen in large numbers inland again 
hat year. Generally a few remain nearly up to 
November, in fact until frozen out, but the man 
who should pick up half a dozen to his own 
? un, inland, after Oct. 25, will have done won- 
le A few days since, I enjoyed the pleasure o( a 
long chat on this (to me) most interesting sub- 
ject with Mr. Everett Smith of Portland, Me. 
This' gentleman is a naturalist, whose reputation 
)V accurate observations of bird hie and habits 
is spread considerably beyond Ins native city, 
d he is probably well known to many readers 
Shooting and Fishing. Like myself, Mi . 
,-nith has been trying to unravel the mysteiious 
ohits of P. Minor, and I think I may say, 
7/ 
