Auckland / Waikato >Hunting NewsMay 07

Auckland Waikato Opening Weekend.

The 2007 Opening Weekend was not a great time to be relying on air-activated motion decoys. Hardly a breath of wind all weekend and plenty of fog besides. Obviously that didn't bode well for everyone but those near refuges, for instance, were able to use the confusion caused by the fog to call ducks into their decoys when they were looking for the larger flocks already in the refuge.

Maize harvesting has had a major impact on duck and goose distribution this year and many thousands of birds have been frequenting the stubbles until all the free food ran out, then looking for the next downed crop. This clearly worked to the advantage of those hunters who responded by going where the birds were. Conversely, those who waited in all the traditional hunting spots hoping the birds would come to them weren't always so lucky. Once again, those hunters who made their own luck, by stalking ponds, walking along willow congested rivers, kayaking down them or going in search of pheasants along lake margins, seemed to have the most success. A few non-game items such as possums and koi carp added to the bag helped keep junior hunters interested too. At least the weather was conducive to socializing with our hunting mates.

The Conservation Minister is currently considering a review of the Wildlife Schedules. Submissions have already closed. We could certainly have benefited from having grey teal on the Game Schedule / game licence this Opening to pad out light bags and also to remove any legal liability from “mistake birds”in poor light. After all, hunters have put up and annually serviced thousands of grey teal nest boxes for more than 35 years. Surely they deserve a payback for their efforts much more than those who never lifted a finger deserve to have grey teal protected.

Speaking of those that have never contributed anything to wetland conservation, the duck protesters were out in small numbers this year in their misguided efforts – focusing on the Humpback Bridge boat ramp. We'd like to think that police could do something concerted next year about their obstruction of hunters going about their legitimate activity. Police did however turn out in force to a nasty incident involving a hunter who allegedly deliberately and repeatedly fired at another, (at just 30 m) who had supposedly stolen “his”spot. This notwithstanding said location was neither claimed this year nor even occupied last year and that the victim was actually voluntarily vacating it for the aggressor at the time. We'd hope that this shooter, who is known to police, will come forward or that those who know him will assist police to find him, as we feel he may need professional help. The more we learn about this character, the more we wonder how he ever got a firearms licence. Of course, such incidents are a total aberration to an otherwise trouble free weekend.

The birds that escaped opening are most certainly still out there and our advice is, when the weather first turns nasty, get into the swamps pronto. Persistent hunters are the ones who'll have full freezers.

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