As publishedNorth Zone: Oct 24–Oct 31, 2026 & Nov 3–Dec 5, 2026; South Zone: Nov 7–Dec 5, 2026 & Dec 19–Dec 31, 2026 (NJDEP proposed, Mar 5 2026)
Dates below come from NJDEP's own "Proposed New Jersey 2026-27 Migratory Bird Seasons" document, the most current NJDEP-published season-setting data found. Public comment closed April 8, 2026 and the proposal was slated for the NJ Fish & Game Council meeting of April 14, 2026; a probe for an explicitly "FINAL" 2026-27 document (matching the naming pattern of the prior year's official final release) returned HTTP 404, and no other source confirmed post-Council-meeting final adoption as of capture date (2026-08-18). Zones: North Zone and South Zone, each with two split segments. 2025-26 reference dates (for comparison, NOT this year): North Zone Oct. 18–Oct. 25 & Oct. 28–Nov. 29; South Zone Nov. 8–Dec. 6 & Dec. 20–Jan. 1. HIP certification required (valid Sept. 1–Apr. 15).
No standalone NJ forecast; NJ participates in the Eastern Woodcock Migratory Research Cooperative Project (banding/telemetry, since 2018) and contributes routes to the federal Singing-Ground Survey, neither of which produces a pre-season forecast document. Federal USFWS American Woodcock Population Status report not yet published for 2026 as of this capture.