The Woodcock and Wild Turkey Connection

On Wednesday morning this week I heard several woodcock males "peenting" as I walked past their singing grounds to turkey hunt. That morning two hens fed, harassed each other and made their acquaintance with my hen decoy in the harvested bean field I was watching. But not one tom or jake showed himself.

On Friday morning, the woodcock males were much quieter. However, the gobblers were vocally outdoing themselves on their roosts and after they hit the ground. Two toms walked into range, one gobbling and puffing himself up in full strut. The other one seemed more concerned about looking out for camouflaged forms sporting shotguns. A third gobbler was still in a tree behind me, and he was shouting up a storm and getting a response from the vocal bird in front of me each time. A distant dog barks: gobble, gobble, gobble. A bird chirps: gobble, gobble, gobble. I shift my weight on the leaves: gobble, gobble, gobble.

Do I draw the conclusion that there is an environmental factor which causes an inverse relationship between the level of mating activity of male woodcock vs wild turkey males and that I can tell how active the male turkeys will be by gauging if the woodcock males are active? In this case, active woodcock mean inactive toms. Doubt it. I'm sure for every hunter who experienced this scenario, there is another who has observed the opposite reaction.

Though it's premature to conclude a connection, I'll continue to pay attention to the woodcock for clues to turkey behavior. Making and testing observations while hunting is part of the allure of the sport after all.

Unfortunately, I'll have more opportunities this spring to test my woodcock/wild turkey connection theory. We're only allowed one bearded bird during the season here in Michigan, and on Friday morning I whiffed an 18-yard shot at that non-vocal tom about the same time he discovered the camo dude aiming at him.

I really would have preferred to bag the strutting bird anyway.