Thread: Game bird diary for all

Originally Posted by 7mm tragic

Attachment 223330
It was a bit slower than normal however all 5 guns shot our limits (plus a couple of extra's in case the eels got some).
Stoked with how the dog went, she didn't get to do much last year due to having pups in the first week of May.
Even managed to pull one out of a tree hanging 3 feet above the water.
All birds recovered that I sent her for plus some I didn't see.
Went for a walk down some drains this afternoon and collected a couple of drakes. (A lot easier to be selective when hunting by yourself)
I've noticed all of the drakes are a bit drab like these two from this afternoon. Is that an age thing or hybrid/grey?

could be not yet in mating plumage thing either...two of the three drakes we had didnt have the culdecunard feathers..curly bit on bum

@7mm tragic
is she a Toller?

the ducks could be a cross breed with a domestic type duck

Pretty good in the mid north - more ducks flying than last year. Only problem we had was our spot being 2m under water due to flooding. Had to shoot the edge of the flood on a paddock instead which made the retrieving much easier for Belle.

Slow for us in the swamp. Others did better further down.. had a good shoot today thought got 7 so we ended on 18 for the weekend.. stayed in 2 night so will give morning a go.theb head home for the clean up

Changed ponds tonight only had three come in,so will be back at the big pond tomorrow.
A duck and a few pooks,pretty quiet today.


planted this oak two years ago.

High flyers.

Gave Bo a rest and grabbed Ace for a retreive.

20 Bore, Yes she is a toller.
We had 2 ducks yesterday that definitely looked like a domestic cross. They had a lot of white on their breast.

Back to the big pond with Bo

Patience, Bo the last 15 mins before dark is the buisness!

No shots fired in the district just me.

Looks like we went to band camp! Got the jewells!

More birds seen this year than in the past but wind wrong direction for my end of the lake,ended up with 7 mallards and 3 sky panda for the Saturday morning,pulled the pin before dark as boat retrieve was going to be too hard in the dark,slippery paddock launch with steep hill as well makes things interesting in good weather much less wet and dark,took boy for a drain walk and got a nice fat green head that the pup did a good retrieve on so good weekend all up ,pup wasn’t too keen on the wounded Canada retrieve though the look on his face was priceless as he motored back to the boat birdless!!

Headed to southland with the family to shoot with the old man. Great weekend, bit down on previous years but some good shooting and dogwork made up for that.
Saturday 13 mallards, 2 parries, 2 swans
Sunday 1 Mallard, 1 canada, 1 swan

First time back into duck shooting in 6 or 7 years. Shot out of a work mates unused maimai on a Waikato public lake with another mate on his very first opening. Heaps of fun, even managed to call a few geese in from a long way out. Some good shooting, and plenty of not so good haha.
Saturday 4 Mallards, 1 Parrie and 3 Canada's
Sunday 6 Mallards and home by lunch
Only disappointment - some mongrel had visited the lake earlier in the week, bust the doors in on a few stands and pinched the gas stoves(incl ours) plates etc... Young guys opposite us arrived Friday to find their tin boat and decoys gone.

Limit only 6 for mallards/graylards here in Eastern. Son & I had ours done by 7:30 on Saturday, ended up cooking a big feed, son training new pup and hanging out for parries or spoonies and talking crap, then up to the forest to chase roosters. Sunday and Monday got limits but took all morning. Today was tough. Wind was strong in our face, and it was tough trying to call them off the sheltered side of the lagoon. Got 3 by lunchtime, then pulled the pin before the heavy rain arrived. Going back in the morning, and might sneak into an unmanned maimai on the sheltered side.

Originally Posted by The bomb

More birds seen this year than in the past but wind wrong direction for my end of the lake,ended up with 7 mallards and 3 sky panda for the Saturday morning,pulled the pin before dark as boat retrieve was going to be too hard in the dark,slippery paddock launch with steep hill as well makes things interesting in good weather much less wet and dark,took boy for a drain walk and got a nice fat green head that the pup did a good retrieve on so good weekend all up ,pup wasn’t too keen on the wounded Canada retrieve though the look on his face was priceless as he motored back to the boat birdless!!

yup the big sods are daunting for even a experienced dog
but one thats learnt to grab them by both wing stubs is a dag to watch as even the goose just enjoys the ride till the tornado hits

got a parrie in the paddock on opening day, it's partner came circling back and tried to land again while I stood there... Missed two mallards on the lake because I was chatting to Dad and we didn't see them come in only a few metres from the maimai argh!

So happy to be back out there on opening morning after missing last year with the Rona. Did not see many mallards/greys but plenty of parries in the air, mostly passing us by to a field of recently cut maize nearby.
Managed 26 parries between 3 shooters and a single mallard on day one (10/1 myself). I went on a run around 5:15 pm to push the birds off the field and ran back to the blind all sweaty to get the birds coming in as the light died. On Sunday, we split up, and I shot the field in a liedown blind. Managed to call two greys into range and spent the day missing plenty of parries right in front of me. I was in LaLa land, and a flock of about 20 parries silently swung from behind me, just about landing on me and the decoy spread. I fumbled for the gun and burst out of the blind, only to leave my safety on. Argh! Decided to pack up with 8 parries, 2 greys and a plover in the bag.

Overall a great weekend. My young brown lab Bruce was hesitant at first, still hesitant of gunfire, but quickly realised bangs meant ducks (some of the time at least) and started working well. Best retrieve of the weekend, he cleared a creek to chase a wounded parrie that had hidden in some long grass. He landed directly on top of it, letting out a "honk" under his weight. He then pulled it out of the grass by the head like a bird pulling a worm and trotted it back over, quite happy with himself. Such a good feeling seeing him put it together and have all the work throughout the year training pay off. Hopefully just the start of a good season ahead. I would love to get the pup on some pheasants at some point.

Shot a nice fat mallard drake up at the top pond tonight.Bo gets a retrieve.