Both Barrels July 2022

Good numbers of upland game

We got skunked over the weekend, but it wasn’t for lack of birds. 

It has been a long time since I have seen such large coveys of quail and, for that matter, flushed so many pheasants. 

It was just a case of the wrong place at the right time. 

We were only getting fleeting glimpses of the birds before they disappeared behind a tree.  

The weather conditions that have been hard on the duck populations in the Eastern Region have been kind to the upland game. 

There are large tracts of forest in this Region open to the public on obtaining a permit (check your regulation guide). 

One of the tricks of hunting these forests is finding blocks where the trees are low enough to hunt but mature enough to hold game. 

Where we were, the trees were just too high.  

Above Right: Dash with a nice rooster (Photo Credit: Mike Bodie)

Opening weekend harvest

Average greylard (mallard + grey duck) harvest per hunter in the Eastern Region over opening weekend (mean=blue circle ± 95% Bayesian credible interval; blue line). The red solid line is greylard per hour hunting waterfowl.

Preliminary harvest figures are in for the opening weekend of the game bird season in the Eastern Region, and it appears hunters did about as well as we had predicted. 

On average, hunters harvested similar numbers of grey and mallard duck (greylard) in the last three years. 

However, this was due to more hours hunted. 

Accordingly, the greylard per hour hunted was down on the last couple of years. 

Hunters shot similar numbers of the other species compared with recent years. 

Good use of the feathers

In the last both barrels, we asked hunters for feathers or skins for weaving Maori Korowai (cloaks). 

We managed to get some generous contributions of pheasant, pukeko, paradise shelduck, and mallard feathers which were greatly appreciated by the weavers at Waiteti Marae. 

The pictures below show some of their fantastic work.  

If anyone has any more feathers they would be very much appreciated (call me on 021-2789-408).

Warm Barrels

Matthew McDougall, Eastern Fish & Game