West Coast > Hunting News May 2008

Visiting hunters descend on the ‘coast
Dean Kelly – Fish & Game Officer

The first thing that stands out for the 2008 opening was the increase in numbers of hunters out on opening weekend from other Fish & Game regions. Rangers out on opening day had an encounter rate of approximately 1 in 3 hunters visiting from another Fish & Game region. Canterbury and Nelson hunters made up the bulk of visiting hunters but there were also groups from as far as Auckland and Central Otago. The result was that most ponds and major waterways were covered by hunters which kept the birds moving throughout the day.

Understandably, all hunters want to be out on opening weekend and due to most of the traditional areas being occupied cannot go where they would necessarily prefer. This results in some hunters who strike it right doing extremely well with naïve birds dropping in all morning. The rest have to call and decoy in extremely cagey ducks that have already been put off their preferred area.

A return to settled, fine and frosty conditions for a couple of days prior to and including opening weekend, unlike the balmy conditions for the last few seasons, left some hunters wondering where all the ducks had gone. Other hunters that were positioned on undisturbed water nearby to a good winter food source did well. The West Coast is a changing landscape and over the past ten years has undergone major changes in land use and therefore waterfowl habitat. That food source in the West Coast region changes with the weather on a daily basis and throughout the season in response to winter feed for stock. When paddocks are wet during and after significant rain events ducks will take the opportunity to dabble in temporary wet patches and drains and will spend more of their time feeding in paddocks and will not venture far to roost. Those same areas during fine frosty spells will be mostly unproductive both for the ducks and hunters. During these periods ducks are more likely to be feeding in creeks and, where available, stock feeding out areas but, by far, they will spend the majority of their day roosting on bush ponds and riverbeds. As the winter progresses and dairy farmers dry off cows there is less disturbance on farms and more stock food available. Mallards will change their habits accordingly and base their daily routine around feed out times.

What does this mean for hunters? The result is that with a bit of groundwork it is not hard to find a decent ‘mob’ of settled ducks from now on the braided riverbeds and bush ponds. So… get out there, talk to farmers and spend some time watching ducks, the rewards will be worth it.

PS: Don’t forget to get out on those days when the wind is turning the rain horizontal they are the most productive days for evening hunts and walking drains on farms!

back to Both Barrels

If you would like to be kept in touch with Gamebird hunting news and other hunting information, please sign up for Both Barrels, our Gamebird hunting email newsletter.