Hunters gear up for game bird hunting season

Photo caption: David Towgood’s Game Bird Habitat Trust stamp winning photo

Hunters around the country have their fingers and toes crossed for some foul weather this weekend with the game bird season getting underway.

Fish & Game New Zealand chief CEO Corina Jordan says a good breeding season means Opening Weekend looks promising for hunters. 

Jordan will be joining scores of other hunters this season, gathering wild, free-range game birds during the long hunting season New Zealand has.  

“New Zealand has plenty of options for game bird hunters; it’s more than just Opening Weekend; Kiwi hunters can hunt game birds throughout the winter. 

“The dry summer had game bird hunters worried, but a good rain would bring smiles to the faces of the approximately 60,000 people who get out in the wild on Opening Weekend,” she said. 

“There are plenty of birds around throughout the country after several good breeding seasons, but they have been concentrated where there’s water over summer.  With a bit more rain they will spread out to other wetlands and farm dams providing more hunting opportunities.

“We just need some really bad weather for Opening Weekend – that’s what makes for great hunting, and that’s what hunters throughout the country will be hoping for.

“Regardless of what conditions we get over Opening Weekend, we know hunters will have a good time – they love getting out with their dogs and spending time with friends and family. Hunting is also a great way to get kids off devices, out in fresh air and teach important skills, instill a desire to protect the environment and help them learn independence. 

“Women are also increasingly getting out and having a go, and my experience is that it’s liberating. It’s time to share with your hunting buddies, but it also means you can bring back something delicious and healthy for dinner.  

“It’s also a great time to celebrate the massive conservation effort put in by hunters – if it wasn’t for Fish & Game and hunters, there wouldn’t be a lot of these wetlands left. The work done to protect these threatened habitats benefits not just waterfowl that we hunt but provides refuge to native species too.”

Regional Wrap:

Northland - Fish & Game Officer Graham Gallaghan

After a dry summer birds are concentrated in permanent water areas such as harbours, rivers and deeper ponds.

Total duck harvest has remained very steady over the past decade, and this season is expected to be no different. Paradise shelduck remain near the historical highs of recent counts and are expected to be a high proportion of the harvest bag.

Advice for hunters faced with the prospect of a dry pond is to get around scouting, looking for concentrations of paradise ducks on new grass sown after the harvest of maize crops. A polite door knock might reveal a farmer who is happy to have the birds hunted to take pressure off the grass.

Quail have had a good breeding season and pheasants have also thrived in the drier conditions, with plenty of poults seen recently.

Northland hunters are encouraged to target upland birds this season for the challenge and to extend their season.

A permit for hunting Northland plantation forestry can be obtained from the Northland Fish and Game office or over the phone. For the price of $50 to cover liability insurance, this gives hunters weekend access to 19 pine forests scattered across the mid-north.

Auckland Waikato - Fish & Game Officer David Klee

Climate, in particular spring rainfall, is a critical component to overall duck production, and the last two breeding seasons have been great.

This last summer also had a low incidence of large-scale botulism outbreaks, and those that did occur were generally contained through clean-up operations.  As a result, we are seeing good numbers of birds on many rivers, lakes and ponds, both mallards and parries.  Make sure you also have some goose loads on hand as this species continues to flourish. 

Eastern - Fish & Game Officer Matthew McDougall

We are predicting a similar number of mallard ducks to last year.  Hunters, however, may need to be a little sharper on their calling and decoy spread will need to be on point as more of the population will be adults.  Duck banding indicated the number of juveniles weren’t as good as last year but there were reasonable numbers of adults compared with the last few years.  Adult mallards are a little more savvy and harder to hunt than juveniles.

Cyclone Gabrielle had us really concerned that the paradise shelduck population on the East Coast may have taken a beating.  Cyclone Bola in 1988 had a massive effect on the paradise shelduck population so we were happy to see that in the main the populations were generally OK.  The areas that were down have lots of paradise normally, so we aren’t too concerned.

Black swan numbers look very healthy in management areas A1 and A2 so hunters are encouraged to make the most of them.  Upland game (pheasant and quail) was down in some areas last year but with the dryer summer they should have bounced back.  For those that hunt the Timberlands forests permits are now available.

Hawkes Bay: John Lumsden

While recent dry weather is seeing many areas drying up, birds are still present in good numbers across the region.

Hunters focusing on traditional areas may not be as successful this year as those who are more mobile and have the ability to shoot areas like open paddocks.

Hawke's Bay rivers will provide some good shooting on opening weekend with many access points repaired since last year’s cyclone damage, but you’ll need to do check before hand as some areas have changed.

Despite feeding in harvested maize fields, ducks will still congregate in backwater pools along the river. Those waterfowl hunters who spend time identifying these sites should have a good opening weekend.

Game bird hunters are encouraged to take opportunities to hunt other game birds through the region. Populations of California quail & pheasants are recovering, and they are enjoying the abundant vegetation along the riverbeds and the dry weather, so numbers are looking pretty good. There are plenty of opportunities to harvest paradise shelducks in the agricultural regions particularly in Central Hawkes Bay. For the hunter who likes a challenge, there is an abundance of Pūkeko with many landowners happy to have the numbers knocked back.

Wellington and Taranaki: Fish & Game Officer Hamish Carnachan

Dry late summer and autumn conditions have encouraged mallard ducks and other waterfowl to congregate on lakes and ponds that have retained permanent water.

Good duck camps have also been spotted on river bends, pools and estuary areas with exposed beaches for loafing. The larger lakes are holding lots of mallards too!

In some parts of Taranaki and Waimarino welcome rainfall last weekend put water in ponds and dams that were almost dry.

However, Manawatu and Wairarapa, and the south Taranaki and Whanganui, still remain fairly dry so the concentration of ducks on permanent water is unlikely to change much. That said, Lake Onoke is currently blocked to the sea and the barrage gates are closed, meaning water will back up in Lake Wairarapa and hopefully flow into the surrounding wetlands.

Once the rain arrives, though, expect some spectacular hunting as the big mobs of birds break up and go in search of fresh water and what will be an abundance of feed in ponded/flooded paddocks and stubble-fields.

Notwithstanding the recent dry weather, it was another very good spring breeding season for waterfowl on the back of three years of favourable La Niña conditions. This means the mallard population is healthy in the lower North Island resulting in both Wellington and Taranaki Fish & Game setting a 12-bird limit for mallard/grey duck for the 2024 season.

So, there's plenty to look forward to and certainly some great hunting on the cards in the coming weeks. 

Nelson Marlborough: Fish & Game Officer Jacob Lucas

In the Nelson Marlborough Region, the dry Spring/Summer period has benefited upland game bird populations but not so much mallard duck numbers.  Recent mallard monitoring results show an overall decline in bird numbers which is more pronounced in eastern areas. 

Paradise duck numbers are steady across the region, with an increase seen in Golden Bay, which also held steady mallard numbers. 

In our travels, staff have noticed decent numbers of mallards within river environments, and this is a good option for those looking for a last-minute hunting spot – especially if your pond has gone dry. 

Upland game hunters should have a good season, and we encourage hunters to make use of our facilitated upland game hunting options at Rabbit Island/Moturoa and within OneFortyOne (OFO) forests – hit up local staff for details.

West Coast: Fish & Game Officer Baylee Kersten

West Coast game bird numbers are looking healthy after all trend counts indicating that our populations are in good shape. Despite our grey/mallard count being slightly down on last year’s count, many hunters are reporting good numbers as they prepare their maimais.

It is likely that the recent unstable weather lowered the count as ducks made use of the feeding opportunities it presented, rather than roosting at our monitoring sites. Also, there is a lot of late maize coming off, and that sure knows how to draw in both the parries and ducks.

Paradise Shelduck numbers have remained very high, being up 1,483 birds on last year’s already exceptional count. Hunters experienced great success last season targeting parries, so given their numbers are even higher this year, we should again be instore for some fantastic hunting.

If you are still yet to find a spot for opening, a bit of door-knocking where some maize has just been harvested is a great option or check out the riverbeds.

There currently may not be high numbers of ducks resident in some riverbed spots but come opening weekend typically this is where they seek refuge – so be there ready to go.

North Canterbury: Fish & Game Officer Matthew Garrick

Our late summer dabbling duck monitoring flights across the Canterbury Plains indicate that the duck numbers are right on the historical average and on par with last year. What isn’t at all average this year is the extreme drought. This means ducks will be more concentrated going into Opening Weekend with comparably limited habitat available. This can make for some really good hunting but will require extra effort scouting to find the birds.

The water level at Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere has been low all summer and continues to be low, which will make Opening Weekend difficult for hunting. However, the low lake through the growing season means there will be some excellent mid- to late-season hunting opportunities as water levels come up and flood new habitats along the margins.

As always, don’t forget the duck season is much longer than two days. As with the lake, when we go into winter and get some rain, some of those historical “honey holes” you know about that may be dry now will be quick to fill with our feathered quarry. Ducks find new habitats quickly as they become available, and the most successful hunters are the ones that adjust with the ducks.

Central South Island: Fish & Game Office Rhys Adams

Central South Island Region’s game bird population monitoring reveals that hunters can expect moderate game bird numbers region-wide this season.

The exception to this is the high number of black swans at Wainono Lagoon. These large birds offer a great opportunity to harvest many free-range game meat meals for the family this season.

With drought conditions throughout much of the region and some ponds being dry, we expect bird numbers to be concentrated around permanent water bodies, which should enhance the hunting success for many hunters.

Otago: Fish & Game Officer Bruce Quirey

Overall, mallard numbers in Otago look positive despite this year’s trend count being below average, a nine-year survey shows.

Otago Fish & Game conducts an aerial survey of mallards each year before opening weekend.

We counted 5130 mallards last week ‒ surprisingly close to last year’s count of 5100. This year, the counts were affected by low water in many ponds as well as high and dirty water on the Clutha River/Mata-au due to heavy rain in the headwaters. Mallards are counted at ponds, rivers and overland transects, starting in the Taieri but mostly in South Otago around the Clutha/Mata-au and Pomahaka rivers.

The overall mallard trend across nine years is positive, although this season’s trend count was below average. However, when the 2022 year, which had an extremely high count, is removed from calculations, this year is just above average. Trend counts aren't a sign of how many birds you’ll harvest each season.

While the region is greener, April’s rainfall so far hasn’t made a huge difference to water levels in many ponds and wetlands.

There will be plenty of opportunities to harvest some wild kai throughout this season. It’s now down to friends and families to get out there!

Southland: Fish & Game Officer Cohen Stewart

Southland Fish & Game has recently completed its pre-season mallard monitoring flights. As part of our waterfowl monitoring program, we annually conduct aerial mallard counts on selected wetlands, river transects, and land transects across Southland.

This year's monitoring results indicate a slight decrease compared to the ‘bumper’ counts observed over the last few years. However, the recent count remains consistent with the long-term average, so hunters can still expect ample opportunity to harvest Southland mallards during the opening weekend and throughout the two-and-a-half-month season.

It's also worth noting that the recent wet conditions in Southland will provide ideal feeding conditions for our mallards, ensuring they are in excellent condition for the table come opening day.

About Fish & Game New Zealand

Fish & Game manages trout, salmon, and game birds and helps New Zealanders to connect with nature and experience the many benefits fishing and hunting offers. 

We work to protect the environment that anglers and hunters have enjoyed as a tradition for over 150 years.  

ENDS