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The woodcock is a migratory upland bird. It nests and raises its young in northern states and Canada, then in the fall it migrates to its wintering ground in Louisiana. The woodcock is a prized game bird because of its erratic flight pattern and its dark, delicious meat.

Award-winning outdoor journalist Keith Sutton of Arkansas is a big woodcock fan. He says woodcock usually migrate in November from northern states and Canada down to Louisiana, typically just ahead of a hard cold front. These birds probe for earthworms, and when the ground freezes, they can't feed, so they pick up and fly south.

Sutton continues that a sure sign that woodcock have arrived is whitewash on the leaves in thick low-lying areas. This a white splash where the birds have used the bathroom, and it's the best indicator of the potential for having a great hunt.

"Woodcocks like to live where there are young saplings like honeysuckles," he observes. So their habitat is always really thick and the birds fly right up into the air. It makes it challenging and fun and I look forward to it every year. Not many people try it in the South but its worth trying because there's no other eating game bird better than the woodcock."

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