As publishedDec 18, 2026 - Jan 31, 2027
Statewide (single season, no zones).Woodcock hunters must wear a minimum of a Hunter Orange or Blaze Pink hat/cap. Falconry for woodcock extended Nov 1-Jan 31. Shooting hours: half-hour before sunrise to sunset.
LDWF runs no LA-specific population forecast (its banding project at Sherburne WMA/Atchafalaya NWR, since 1990, is harvest/movement research, not a forecast). Whether Louisiana — wintering rather than breeding range for the species — falls within the federal Singing-Ground Survey's route network was flagged undetermined in the Tier A registry; judgment call made this pass: Louisiana sits within the federal Central Management Region's season-setting framework regardless of local SGS route density (the harvest-relevant instruments — Parts Collection, HIP Diary Survey — draw on wintering-ground harvest data, unlike the breeding-only SGS), so the federal USFWS American Woodcock Population Status report is treated as the governing source, not a structural exclusion like Idaho's. Re-confirmed still unpublished for 2026 as of 2026-08-19.