So after the opening weekend on ducks, we start on our pheasants. As usual plenty of birds were shot. But when one of the guys told us there was 12-15 pigs out a plan was hatched that saw 4 of us sneak around between them and the forest with barrels full of buckshot. After the first shot they came charging our way and a few seconds later 6 lay on the hillside in a volley of shots.
Actually with 6 pigs, 21 pheasants and a couple of hares to process, much of Sunday was simply butchery and bugger all hunting.

Wow, Shanks that looks like big fun!

Z

It was Zee, even a couple of sore heads sunday morning.

You could be making dough mate.. Many Europeans etc pay big for that sort of fun day.

Wow congrats, what are those black birds?

Looks like a great time! What are the blueish birds with the long legs?

Cheers guys.

Gryph, Guiding kinda go's against my morals. So its a friends only adventure.

The birds are Pukeko. Very cunning but slow fliers so not such great sport. They are very territorial though and kill a lot of other birds chicks so we try to keep their numbers down a bit. Will take about 70 off the farm this season as we hunt the pheasants.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/...ds/birds-a-z/pukeko/

Thanks for the link. Interesting bird.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
Cheers guys.

Gryph, Guiding kinda go's against my morals. So its a friends only adventure.

The birds are Pukeko. Very cunning but slow fliers so not such great sport. They are very territorial though and kill a lot of other birds chicks so we try to keep their numbers down a bit. Will take about 70 off the farm this season as we hunt the pheasants.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/...ds/birds-a-z/pukeko/

I knew that cobber.

I asked in another previous shoot pic of yours shanks if "they were purple swamp hens"

And looking at your link it seems that they are Aussie invaders eh!

I often sat on a swamp trying to get pics of the birds about among the PSH`s.

The pūkeko is well loved by many New Zealanders, winning Forest & Bird's Bird of the Year competition in 2011.

Yeah right!

"Tiakina nga manu, ka ora te ngahere Ka ora te ngahere, ka ora nga manu"

The townies love them. They are quick to work out where is safe to live and will ignore people or cars when they are safe, so they often live around towns and such. But fire a shot and that changes fast. If they could fly faster they would be more challenging than the pheasant.
A more recent arrival from aus is the coot.
http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/australian-coot
and there are reports of aussie mountain ducks breeding down south this year too.

Pleeeese leave some pigs for me!

Cool stuff mate.

Re the 'mounties' i reckon thats a natural as the Pacific Black Duck flies between both countries I believe.

Thanks, couldn't work it out.

We had them in the backyard pond in Oz.

Didn't know that about them. All native Australian wildlife that doesn't rhyme with bangaroo can not be killed there. The roos require special tags and a shooting test.

quote:

Originally posted by gryphon1:
Re the 'mounties' i reckon thats a natural as the Pacific Black Duck flies between both countries I believe.

Not as much as most believe. The pacific black as a stand alone species is almost extinct here.
only 2% of ducks that look like blacks are pure the rest contain Mallard genetics. That tends to say there is not a great deal of new recruitment.
Grey teal are known to make the flight in reasonable numbers in times of extreme drought in Aus.There was a big movement in 1957. The mountain ducks have arrived occasionally but never managed to get a foot hold. My local bird park actually has a pair as well as some woodies, which I wish would get set up. Though sometime in the long distant past the Mountain ducks did get here and establish and became our Paradise Duck.
The coot has made it, so has the spur wing plover. The black swan made it across, then was killed out and then brought back by humans 150 odd years ago.

The mallards and Mallard hybrids here in Aus are outlaws,they are vermin as the Mallard drakes are too vigorous/dominant for the Pacific Black Duck drakes and thus take over eventually in areas and are on the way eventually to breed the PBD`s out.
It is what is probably happening in NZ atm mate..with a ? mark.
btw the Grey Teal are delish,my favourite.

You forgot to mention the Harriers too!

Its what was originally thought here too, but from memory it turned out that it was the black duck drakes preferring some Mallard booty over there own. Plus the farm type landscape here tends to favour the mallard somewhat.
Everyone reckons the teal is great eating and hunters here have done a lot of work in providing breeding boxes for them, so much so that now they would be about the 3rd or 4th most common duck species, but the govt will not remove their protection.
The Harrier has been here about a thousand years and it's establishment coincides with arrival of Maori and the extinction of the Eyles harrier, so i guess human land change and lack of competition allowed it to get a foothold.

When I was last in NZ with mate I got the impression that the Harriers were readily shot because of whatever damage they do to the local wildlife (or something) and I seem to remember you saying,or maybe it was you know who that "they are Aussies anyway"

Here is a pic taken in Batemans Bay Watergardens NSW yesterday by a friend..Have a go at ID mate. There is a sneaky type up the back mate.

some of my PBD pics mate.

Pacific black, aussie coot, Pukeko, Woodie, Chestnut teal? and a bloody Muscovy.

Harriers are partially protected. You can shoot them under certain circumstances, usually if they are damaging your property or other protected species. They actually need some culling as they have done too well in the modern NZ environment but you can't just go out and kill them. I remember your surprise at seeing so many of them but have never really thought of them as an Aussie bird so must have been someone else.
I also remember the Black ducks I saw in Aus and they are smaller and darker than what we would expect from most blacks ducks here.

Yeah right..thats a pass.

Fukn Muscovy should not be even allowed to shit there.
Places like that are reservoirs for the Greed Heads and are "just ducks" to most of the park visitors.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
So after the opening weekend on ducks, we start on our pheasants. As usual plenty of birds were shot. But when one of the guys told us there was 12-15 pigs out a plan was hatched that saw 4 of us sneak around between them and the forest with barrels full of buckshot. After the first shot they came charging our way and a few seconds later 6 lay on the hillside in a volley of shots.
Actually with 6 pigs, 21 pheasants and a couple of hares to process, much of Sunday was simply butchery and bugger all hunting.

Great shooting, well done, cheers Chris

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
Cheers guys.

Gryph, Guiding kinda go's against my morals. So its a friends only adventure.

The birds are Pukeko. Very cunning but slow fliers so not such great sport. They are very territorial though and kill a lot of other birds chicks so we try to keep their numbers down a bit. Will take about 70 off the farm this season as we hunt the pheasants.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/...ds/birds-a-z/pukeko/

We have them here in Oz, Purple Moorhens, they are well spread throughout the world, South Africa, Pakistan, lots of parts of Europe etc etc.
cheers Chris

Went out for a shot last night. Ducks were flying quick and edgy so shooting was difficult, but I got 4 of the 8 that were possible if I was good enough.

They are a classic example of what is going on in NZ so I've lined them up to see if anyone can tell what genetics and sex they are looking at?

You told me last night!


Ask Muzza he has all the answers ha ha ha gnuck gnuck gnuck as Curly would gnuck!

I'll have a guess , Gryph. Dont know everything - that would make me equal to you , eh ;-)

L to R

mallard drake , mallard hen , grallard hen , grey hen

Oh Murray you know yourself that just wont ever happen old chum as after all I am an Australian ha ha ha

I`m waiting!

quote:

Originally posted by muzza:
I'll have a guess , Gryph. Dont know everything - that would make me equal to you , eh ;-)

L to R

mallard drake , mallard hen , grallard hen , grey hen

Nearly Muzza.
The Grallard is a drake

close but ......

Hey Gryph - you know why Aussies are like computers ?



You have to punch information into both of them ;-)

You told me that last year mate but used the word Americans instead of Aussies....lame old fella,lame ha ha.

.

Great mixed bag shoot / hunt picture. Great looking BW springer too.

Cheers

.

Thanks a lot for the weekend Shanks.

Very kind of you to host me and my daughter. We both really enjoyed the trip & the brief walk. Saw a few pigs and a few deer. Nice chat over a great single malt. Cool to catch up with the young French Woofie couple.

Hope we get those pigs next time!