WOODCOCK BANDING WITH BIRD DOGS 
Bruce Wright 
Wildlife Management Institute 
The following is a summary of the results achieved to date in 
banding woodcock with bird dogs. The banding was done on the wod- 
cock study area of the Northeastern Wildlife Station near Fredericton, 
New Brunswick. The cover was the typical nesting cover of the north- 
east, a young birch-aspen stand with scattered conifers over a ground 
cover of leaf-mold and bracken. The bracken present at the time of 
the banding is the remains of last year's growth, and not new growth. 
Dates 
The dates on which banding was done were May 19, 20, and 22 in 
1950; and May 10, 11, 12, 13, 1h, and 17 in 1951. Banding should only 
be done in dry weather as disturbance during rain may be lethal to day- 
old chicks. 
Age of Chicks 
Chicks were banded ranging in age from 1-12 days. The 12-day old 
chicks were just able to fly, but not proficient enough to escape capture. 
the Method 
The method consisted of wrking a trained dog through the cover 
from the down-wind side. The broods are pointed by the dog. Only 
staunch dogs may be used as the young are completely at the mercy of 
the dog until the dog-handler arrives and snaps a lead on him. When 
the dog is secured a hand net 3-feet in diameter with a 6-foot handle 
is placed over the female and young. With very young chicks the female 
and all four chicks may be caught in the net together, but more usually 
the young are scattered within a 10-foot radius of the female and great 
care must be taken that they are not stepped on when netting the female. 
Even the weight of one hind foot of a light setter bitch was enough to 
kill a chick on one occasion, and the dog did not even know it had 
stepped on the bird. They are extremely well camouflaged and will 
"freeze" perfectly. It often happens that one or two of the chicks 
are found but the last two cannot be found. Therefore, it helps if 
the chicks in hand start to "peep", as the ones still in hiding will 
answer them and give away their location. When the chicks are 1-3 
days old the female will often allow the net to be placed over her with- 
out moving, but from the age of 3 days on she is much more wary and will 
flush as the net approaches. The 6 females taken so far were all with 
broods 3 days old or younger. 
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