Thread: Game bird diary for all

went for armed wander up local river..had five parries give me long range fly by..not close enough to tempt a load of #3s in their direction though... saw one hare... the quail that were around in December were nowhere to be seen and no sign of a mallard at all..still was good walk with both dogs.Poppy does the sweep back n forth across in front of me inside shotgun range with almost zero imput from me..just odd single whistle if she ranges too far,or sees bird and decides she better follow it..... happy but testing times ahead I feel.

Bit of a blast and cast down at the river tonight.No fish but a nice fat parry drake.

haha they do love a good nosy. When we get parries (speaking of dumb animals) land in the field I try sneak up through the cows in the next paddock... It's not a very stealthy look when you have a herd running over to you and making all sorts of noises.

Four mallards this morning. Had these spoonies come in, but they are just too pretty to shoot. May have been a different story early in the season!

@dannyb will appreciate that photo... theysurely are a beautiful bird.

Tonight I pulled off the best shot of my season to date.
A pair had just turned downwind and were making the most of the 30knot tailwind.
Let one off at the lead bird which promptly folded, switched to second bird but it was also falling.
Went round with the hound to collect and found one flapping and duck diving in the willows, retrieved that.
Went further round and here are 2 more floating upside down stone dead.
Walked back to the maimai with a batting average of 300.
Put the shotty in the corner and focused on calling for the other 2 shooters, thought I'd quit while I was ahead.

Two Trophy Birds Opening morning.

Originally Posted by EmpireSafaris

Two Trophy Birds Opening morning.

Any tags?

Pretty hard weekend In the swamp.3 ducks 3 swans . Not really interested in the call .hard shooting .thought the wind amd rain would bring em in.how we were wrong.mate in neighbouring pond did ok he shot 4 this morning.

calling is funny thing..... opening weekend we ONLY heard people calling,the ducks all shut up.... sit n listen to ducks more and you may find they arent as loud and nagging as many folks call. forsure it can work and pull birds on some days,other days Im starting to realise shutting up and only giving odd subtle chuckle or quack may well be better option...

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

calling is funny thing..... opening weekend we ONLY heard people calling,the ducks all shut up.... sit n listen to ducks more and you may find they arent as loud and nagging as many folks call. forsure it can work and pull birds on some days,other days Im starting to realise shutting up and only giving odd subtle chuckle or quack may well be better option...

Yep. Found that out a number of years ago - especially later in the season (as much as it is up here). Key is to watch their reaction to the call, and decide what to do then. Opening is a free-for-all, with stiff competition from callers,flappers and jerks (and jerk strings), so ducks will do whatever they want.

Floods again in lower North Island but Bo and I made our way to a pond after work and never heard one. No shooters scaring them they all probably in paddocks.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

calling is funny thing..... opening weekend we ONLY heard people calling,the ducks all shut up.... sit n listen to ducks more and you may find they arent as loud and nagging as many folks call. forsure it can work and pull birds on some days,other days Im starting to realise shutting up and only giving odd subtle chuckle or quack may well be better option...

Yeah definitely learn a lot by just watching how they react.its funny some.ducks you can howl at and they respond others more call shy. We have had many ducks just turn up in the decoys when we are mucking round without even calling. But learning to call well is a definite advantage. Most callers in our block would think they sound fantastic.. ��

Originally Posted by Ross Nolan

Attachment 224474

Go Dash
We slipped and slid round forestry tracks Sunday. On my own and there were a few times I wished i wasnt as the tracks were pretty awful. Saw 3 quail (flew off as i entered forestry) logging has wrecked where i usually go. I'm hoping perserverence pays off in the end