Springtime stirs strange behavior in man and beast. None, however, appears more peculiar than the fellow found wading down through the brush in early May while following a pointing dog and with a long-handled smelt net in hand. What can he be doing so far from water?

He's hunting woodcock. If that strikes you as unusual, a few words of explanation may make it more logical. Chances are, he's either a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), or a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society cooperating with the DNR in a very important project. Banding is the name of the game.

Throughout Michigan, the first week in May is usually the peak of woodcock hatching. Hens generally lay eggs over a five-day period, then incubate them about three weeks before they hatch. The trick is to find hens and chicks on or near the nest before they scatter out and make this unusual hunt hopeless. (Chicks can fly in 14 days.)

Special permits are necessary, along with good but gentle dogs. A dog that will grab and crush a gamebird will not do, since that would defeat the whole purpose. A good pointer, setter, or other pointing breed will locate the birds by scent, then hold fast on point until the net carrier can move into position.

Woodcock lend themselves well to this method of capture, since they will sit tight. The hunter gets a pretty good idea of where the birds will be by the way his dog is pointing, but it still takes good eyesight to see these birds, which have near-perfect camouflage. Once a bird is spotted, the long-handled net is eased forward carefully, then dropped gently over the woodcock.

If lucky, it will turn out to be a female squatted over her brood of young, keeping them warm. There are nearly always four youngsters, and if they're not covered by their mother, they're likely to be very near. Extra care must be taken to not step on the tiny balls of fluff and feathers.

Chicks are popped into a small cloth bag, or even a hat, and held there while their mother is outfitted with a metal leg band. Bands of the same size are used to mark the youngsters, too, since they have adult-size feet right from the start, and the rings won't slip off. The tiny birds also have their beaks measured to determine ages and exact hatch date.

A 15-millimeter-long beak is the rule when woodcock first hatch, then another two millimeters in length is added each day, so researchers can get an immediate history of the little captives. Leg bands are numbered and recorded, along with ages of the chicks and their location. Recovering the bands later gives a lot of valuable information about migrations and wintering areas of Michigan-hatched woodcock.

Band returns are most common from Michigan, but they have been found as far away as Louisiana. About three percent of the bands are recovered. Female woodcock are always bigger and stronger than the males. Females have been known to live 10 years, while the known record for male woodcock is seven years, biologists report.

Editor's Note: Gordon H. Charles, 86, of Traverse City, was a longtime outdoors writer who shared his "Outdoors With Gordie" columns with The St. Ignace News and several other northern Michigan newspapers. Mr. Charles died Wednesday, May 2, 2007, at Munson Hospice House in Traverse City, with his family at his side. His obituary is published on page 20 of this week's issue.