Eastern> Hunting News April 08

Prospects updated
By Matthew McDougal, Senior Fish & Game officer

Monitoring of mallard and grey duck indicates that last spring was another good breeding season; however the current drought has been hard on the birds with many of them in very poor condition.  Fish and Game have banded over 20,000 mallard and grey duck in the Eastern and Hawke’s Bay Regions over the last eleven years, yet this year the ducks were some of the thinnest we have yet encountered.

The poor condition of the birds has led Fish and Game staff to restrict harvest (limit bags) for the up and coming season.  The summer – autumn period always sees juvenile ducks struggling to survive but this year we are expecting a higher than normal degree of mortality during this period.

The news is not all bad though, upland game hunters can expect a better than normal season.  Young pheasants are particularly susceptible to high precipitation events which have been notably missing this season.  Indications are that there are good numbers of pheasant and quail around.

Many farmers are struggling with lack of feed at the moment and are loath to share it with Canada geese.  Fish and Game are encouraging hunters to target the geese to minimise potential conflict.

Quail and other upland game should provide excellent hunting opportunities this season

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