From The News Journal.
First State hunters pursue all sorts of game for various reasons, but one driving force that compels some hunters to take to Delaware’s woods, fields, and marshes is the unbreakable bond between hunters and their bird dogs.
Sporting dog breeds include various pointers, setters, flushers, and retrievers (and sometimes versatile hunting dogs with qualities and abilities from multiple categories) that are used for locating (typically by scent rather than sight) live game birds and retrieving downed birds. Bred to hunt, these sporting dogs revel in their hunting field work and anxiously await hunting opportunities along with their human counterparts.
Unfortunately for upland bird hunters, Delaware’s wild game profile is not what it once was. Until the early 1990s, hunters and their four-legged companions enjoyed consistently productive bobwhite quail hunts throughout the state (especially in the Kent and Sussex Counties), but due to habitat change and modern farming practices, quail are now difficult to come by. Likewise, hunters frequently encountered wild ring-necked pheasants through the 1980s, but truly wild pheasants are now scarce in Delaware.
Hope is not lost for bird hunters and their bird dogs, however. As hunters are accustomed to adapting to changing weather, seasons, regulations, locations, and technology, they’ve also adapted to the declining quail and pheasant populations. Rather than wearing out their boots and their dogs’ feet by walking miles in pursuit of phantom upland birds, diehard bird hunters are now targeting different species—woodcock and snipe.
Frequently ignored by quail and rabbit hunters in years past, woodcocks are plentiful in Delaware if one knows where to look and if she or he has a persistent dog that is unfazed by tangled, thorny underbrush and closely packed saplings. Resembling short-bodied, long-billed shorebirds, woodcocks migrate south during Delaware hunting seasons and stop in suitable locations throughout the state to rest and feed on worms and other invertebrates. Bird dogs find woodcocks because of the birds’ strong scent, and pointers or setters will typically freeze and remain motionless in a stalk-like position (i.e. “point” or “set”) when they locate the birds. The woodcocks’ instinct compels them to rely mostly on their camouflage rather than fleeing predators, so they will typically sit tight on the ground. Hunters flush the birds and hopefully get a few quick shots at the smallish birds.
Snipe—similar in appearance to woodcocks but a bit darker in color and smaller—are also found in Delaware. Adhering to their shorebird-like traits, these elusive birds frequent open wet or boggy areas, including farm field puddles, marsh edges, and drainages. If hunters find the birds in the open, they will typically flush before a dog can point them, so hunters should be ready to shoot quickly.
Delaware’s second hunting season split for snipe and woodcock is open through Saturday, January 13, 2018. Hunters in each of Delaware’s three counties can find woodcock or snipe hunting opportunities on several of the state’s wildlife areas, including Bell Tract on Eagles Nest Wildlife Area in southern New Castle County, Main Tract of the Little Creek Wildlife Area in Kent County and Old Furnace Wildlife Area in Sussex County.
As a reminder to the public land hunter, registered motor vehicles used to access designated lands owned or managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife must display a Delaware Conservation Access Pass. Hunters can receive one free annual vehicle pass with the purchase of a Delaware hunting license, and they can purchase additional passes for other vehicles.