The "Queen of the Wood", even if habitual, can put dogs and hunters in difficulty, who must have experience, patience and perseverance
The woodcock, nicknamed "Queen of the wood", is widespread throughout Europe, Asia and the Atlantic islands where it generally nests. In Italy it is present in the periods of autumn and spring.
The woodcock has a weight ranging between 320 and 450 gr. It has a long beak and very large lateral eyes. The coloring is almost identical in reddish brown male and female with black transversal bars on the neck. In general, its plumage is extremely mimetic towards dry leaves.
The woodcock likes woods where there is humidity and where undergrowth is present. It is also possible to find it in the clearings close to the woods.
It is necessary to mention article 18 of the framework law 517/92, which regulates the technique of hunting woodcock. According to this rule, the woodcock is a species that can be hunted from the third Sunday of September to 31 January, taking into account that the discipline of hunting is part of the Regions which, with the intention of conserving the various species, can make changes to the local hunting calendars. .
The most favorable period for hunting this bird corresponds to the last ten days of October, the period in which the "step" records the moment of greatest abundance of flocks.
Woodcock hunting requires a pointing dog, while as regards the shotgun more than the caliber, the importance assumes the barrel which must be short and almost cylindrical. Despite its size, the woodcock is a fairly tender-boned game, for which an 8 or even 9 gauge lead cartridge is sufficient.
It must be pursued by the dog because woodcocks do not always behave in the same way. In fact, in some cases they try to lose their tracks by marching on the ground for long stretches, making a tortuous path, and then eventually taking a flight that goes unnoticed by both the dog and the hunter. Or, while the dog and the hunter "retort" her where they saw or think she has recovered, the woodcock has already returned to the place where it was "raised" for the first time.
Woodcock hunting is very particular and interesting, but it requires excellent dogs, experience, patience and perseverance.
In the past, in hunting the woodcock, the appearance technique was often adopted, which was practiced by stalking at dawn or dusk in the evening, respectively when the wild withdrew from the pasture and then re-entered the wood and vice versa when it left the wood for go to humid places for pasture. For many years this technique, in Italy as in many other countries, has now been forbidden, this form of hunting cannot nowadays be tolerated, as a mere shooting exercise on a strongly hunted and very interesting hunting species, on which it is possible to carry out a specialized hunting exercise, more loyal and sporty, and, at the same time, much less destructive, simply by using the pointing dog.