I have hunted woodcock since 1969, both with and (mostly) without dogs. The remarks by previous posters regarding changes in habitat behavior (e.g., "sideways" vs. vertical flushing, degree of wetness underfoot, and birds flushing further away, and especially running, are all spot on.
In my experience these changes became very noticeably manifest about 15-18 years ago, and in my firm opinion, were greatly exacerbated by the perfection and widespread use of the beeper collar on dogs. Similar to the effect on pheasants of a slamming car door at the edge of a huge Iowa cornfield, my belief is that the tone, frequency, and rhythm of these signals instantly alerts birds and wildlife to the presence of dogs plus humans, which equals 'danger'.
The first manifestation of these phenomena I noticed was the running bird. While grouse hunting, it was always assumed that the bird would take whatever action necessary to stay ahead of/away from the dog and hunter, running being the safest expedient as opposed to flushing, thereby offering the hunter a shot, so years ago it was expected. With woodcock, however, almost never.
Another perspective to consider is that the woodcock is migratory; imagine surviving individual natural hazards (predators, weather) from cover to cover as the bird leaves the Canadian maritimes, for example, then pauses to rest and feed before eventually winding up in Louisiana, South Carolina, of some other southern state at the terminus of its journey. I fully expect that by the second or third encounter in successive covers moving south, these birds recognize these audial signals and immediately go to "red alert!".
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