Calling all duck hunters

Only a week to go before the sun rises on the 2023-24 Game Bird Season! Opening Weekend is on Saturday, May 6.

What you need to know

Excitement is building for Opening Weekend of the 2023-24 Game Bird Season in Otago.

• We’re predicting a standard sort of duck harvest this season ─ good news given the summer drought.
• Recent rainfall has improved many ponds which were drying out.
• Mallards had a good main breeding season in spring before summer’s prolonged dry period.
• Now we just need good hunting conditions for Opening Weekend – low cloud and wind.
• Then it’s all up to you!

Annual mallard trend count

• Almost 5,000 mallards were counted during our flight over selected Otago ponds, river reaches and overland sections in the annual trend count this month.
• The trend count was lower than the 5,780 average of previous years.
• Dry ponds and swollen rivers on the day we counted the ducks will likely have affected the count.

How trend counts work

• Long-term data shows Otago’s mallard population is in good shape despite recent drought.
• Fish & Game has been monitoring the mallard population trend since 2015.
• Mallards are counted at selected locations, not the entire region.
• Counts can be affected on the survey day by conditions such as water levels and weather.
• That’s why we analyse long-term data.

Where to hunt

Left it to the last minute? Don’t just sit there…

• Knock on some farmhouse doors this weekend.
• Search Crown land next to rivers and lakes using the outdoor access map on the Herenga ā Nuku/Outdoor Access Commission website.
• If hunting next to private land, be sure to notify the landowner beforehand.
• Your spot must be no closer than 90 metres from another pegged maimai or stake.

Setting decoys

Otago Fish & Game produced a video last year on how to set decoys to help you harvest more birds.

• Fish & Game rangers often see hunters making easily fixable mistakes with decoy spreads.
• Want more birds for the table?
• Then click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Follow the birds

• If rivers are swollen, mallards often move to wet paddocks.
• Consider hunting in flooded paddocks from a layout blind.
• Use full body decoys or set floating decoys in the puddles.
• Dig the decoy keels into the mud or use wire to stand them up.

Know your local regulations

Game bird regulations often change from year to year.

• Check the 2023-24 regulations here.
• Last year’s national shoveler trend count showed a decline of this taonga native species.
• Otago Fish & Game Council has reduced the limit to one shoveler DRAKE per day.

Grab your licence the easy way

• The fastest, easiest way to get your game bird hunting licence is to jump online.
• All you need is your credit card and in just a few minutes you’ll be set to go.
• No need to worry about your licence turning up in time for Opening Weekend ─ the receipt we email you will suffice until it turns up in your letterbox.
• Head to www.fishandgame.org.nz and click the Licence tab at the top of the page.

Upland action

Central Otago is renowned for its quail hunting.

• For many hunters, chasing upland game birds is the season highlight.
• The Otago upland game bird season opens on 3 June.
• Most upland hunting is on private land.
• Public land opportunities are limited.
• No easy way to say this: you need to put in the hard yards and introduce yourself in a friendly and respectful way to landowners.

Want more info? Follow us on Facebook or contact our helpful Otago team.