Both Barrels June 2025 - Northland

Mid-season summary 

A more stable and colder weather pattern has descended over Northland. Cool, still and foggy mornings interspersed with a few Northeast weather patterns. The rivers have also dropped below flood level but most in the region are still above normal levels. Soil moisture has remained high through May and into June. Our hunter surveys continue throughout the season.

Image above: Puddles in farmland like this are where the ducks are looking to feed at night. Check the margins during daylight hours for feathers – this will indicate whether ducks are visiting at dusk to feed

Many hunters are finding the ducks hard to come by. Considering the regular wet weather events there is still plenty of surface water lying around and the ducks are likely to be staying close to those surface puddles. Scouting is absolutely essential in the late season, time spent cruising the rural areas with binoculars is never wasted. Take the scenic route home from work and try to observe birds on flight lines as evening closes in. This can be a good indicator of where birds are heading to feed. An unassuming-looking paddock with a few small puddles could be the diner of choice for a group of local ducks, but you have to be out watching to notice. The ducks are now very wary, and won’t decoy unless you are right where they want to be.

Hunters who get out and about and adapt with more active hunting techniques are still harvesting a good amount of game, particularly paradise shelduck. As we move toward the end of the season there is still plenty of opportunity to target the parries, as their season runs until the end of July. The same rules apply, get out scouting to find a concentration of birds and set yourself up in the right spot for success.

With a precious few days left of the duck season take the opportunity to get out there and get a few fat ducks in the freezer for your winter roasts. It’s also a good time to think about life after duck season. Remember that there will still be another month for paradise duck and swan, and two months left for upland game so don’t put the gun away at the end of June.

Mobs of paradise ducks can make for some very exciting late season hunting. Diligent scouting, good positioning and good concealment can result in sights like this over the decoys

Season Lengths: 

Our season runs from opening weekend to 29 June 2025 for grey, mallard and shoveler ducks.

Paradise shelduck and swan can be hunted up until 27 July 2025

California quail, brown quail, cock pheasant and pukeko can be hunted out to 24 August 2025.

The paradise shelduck special season runs for nine days from 14 February 2026 until 22 February 2026. Swan and pukeko can also be hunted during this time. The same bag limits apply during this special season.

Northland Fish and Game Wetlands

Casual wetland permits are now available for Fish and Game wetlands. These permits give the hunter the opportunity to sample some hunting on the properties owned and managed by Northland Fish and Game. These include:

• Bisset Wetland (Carruth Road)
• Greenheart (Bob Taylor Road)
• Underwood Wetland (Hoanga Road)
• Kawakawa Wetland (Station Road)
• Borrow Cut (Jordan Valley Road)
• Flaxmill Wetland (Waihue Road)

Forestry and casual wetland permits are available by contacting the office by Email: [email protected], Phone: 09 4384135, or following the link below.

Permit Request Form

Please make yourself familiar with the 2025 regulation guide.

2025 Northland Hunting Regulation Guide

Upland Game Hunting

Northland Fish and Game have negotiated access to thousands of hectares of production pine forests. These forests are spread throughout Northland and give the upland game hunter walking access to large areas of productive ground. The forestry companies provide maps that show age classes of the trees so areas can be selected where suitable habitat and food is available. Read the article in the Northland Regional Supplement to the 2025 Game Magazine for detailed tips on how to hunt the pine forests successfully. Contact the office to get your permit or click here.

Take advantage of the wide variety of upland game opportunities available in the region. Call the office or visit the website for permits to pine forestry blocks.

Duck bands

The map below shows the Northland band returns from this season. This equates to 66 band returns over this time period. Some birds are flying over 300km from the Waikato banding sites to mature in the North.

If you have shot a duck with a band please fill in the online form found at: https://fishandgame.org.nz/game-bird-hunting-in-new-zealand/banding-form/  or call 0800 BIRD BAND (0800-247322). We don’t need the actual band so you can keep it for your lanyard, we just need to obtain a few details. 

In conjunction with the Auckland - Waikato region we band birds at two sites on the Kaipara harbour. These are at Parakai and Wellsford. This data provides valuable information regarding the distribution, movement and survival rates of game birds within the region.

Regulation Changes

The paradise shelduck daily bag limit is now 25 birds. The shelduck numbers in Northland remain robust and above historical averages.  Targeting this species is great for novices and beginners alike. They also add to the variety of the regular hunters bag. 

Bag limits:

Grey/mallard 12 birds per day

NZ shoveler 3 birds per day

Paradise shelducks 25 birds per day

Swan 20 birds per day

Pukeko 12 birds per day

California quail 10 birds per day

Brown quail 10 birds per day

Cock pheasant 5 birds per day

Hunter Surveys 

During the season we conduct gamebird hunter surveys. The results form these surveys help us determine harvest rates and subsequent population changes. It is vital information for sustainable management of gamebird populations. If you purchase a game licence then you should expect a call from the team at some stage during the season. Even if you have not been out hunting it provides us with valuable data regarding resource use. This adds to our knowledge of gamebird distribution changes in the region. The surveys only take a few minutes to complete. We appreciate your continued cooperation with the surveys.

Happy hunting!