| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 01 OCT – 21 NOV 2026 | 52d |
As publishedOct 1–Nov 21, 2026
Zones 1-14 statewide.Sourced from MassWildlife's master migratory-game-bird regulations page, which is already updated for the 2026–27 season (headed '2026–2027 season dates and bag limits'). The species-specific woodcock page still shows the prior year's dates but matching bag/possession figures, confirming the regulatory framework carried over unchanged. HIP (Harvest Information Program) registration required annually.
MassWildlife's season is legally statewide (Zones 1-14) with no zone-based bag differentiation, and neither MassWildlife nor Mass Audubon publishes a density or regional-abundance map for woodcock specifically -- the species is described as found throughout the state in shrubby forested habitat during spring and fall migration. The clearest sub-state signal available is indirect: MassWildlife's own young-forest habitat-management program (explicitly built for New England cottontail, woodcock, ruffed grouse, and golden-winged warbler together) is concentrated on the same western/central Massachusetts WMA network the agency singles out for grouse, and several of those WMA pages name woodcock by species as a beneficiary alongside grouse. This is a habitat-investment/access signal, not a stated density claim -- woodcock's own migratory, transient use of habitat statewide makes it a weaker regional claim than ruffed grouse's more residential, atlas-documented range shift.
Massachusetts woodcock numbers are down over the last decade, at -4.00% per year from 2016 to 2026 on the Singing-ground Survey, the steepest recent decline of any state in the Eastern Region. The long-term record points the same way at -2.55% per year since 1968, so the recent decade is a steeper stretch of a long decline.
Recent decade down 4.00% per year, the steepest in the Eastern Region.
Join the waitlist and tell us what you’re working on — the planner reads it first once your access opens.
Free, invite-gated, unsubscribe anytime. See what it returns