Thread: Goose cull today lake Ellesmere

Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

I would agree with your comments around perceived numbers US. My personal opinion is that numbers are a lot less than the peak, higher than 2012 after the wrath but nowhere where what they were in 2010. Also I think the prolonged lower lake level has pushed a lot of birds to the coast end of the lake which is where you are seeing the big numbers shot.

They got culled in Tekapo last year and I would expect the same to happen this molt.

Geese are a lot more vulnerable in the longer team than rabbits. A mating pair of geese produces 5 to 8 chicks a year. A rabbit can spit out that number of offspring every 12 weeks so their breeding potential is a order of magnitude higher. Geese are also a lot more visible and vulnerable in the molt. I think the reality we face is a long slow grind downwards in terms of goose numbers.

true massive and given that they dont mate till is it 3 or 5 years??the bulk of the breeding birds and their young are still up country.how many come down and whether they,ve been pressured up there will probably determine whether early feb is a feast or famine.

I understood that the Fed big cull did NOT use any of the $100k that the government budgeted for. The operation was self funded, I imagine some in here will know the truth.

lets be honest the airport is partially/fully funding kills not all maybe but most anywhere near elly or the flight paths are with thier involvment,financial or otherwise.
they have said big kills and thier mess are off the table cos of the bad pr on tv last time.doc had little involvement past clarifying where thier land and or ngai tahus became private land and did say anyone could jump in a boat chopper and kill geese without a permit ??strange when they make me get one every year one for gamebirds and one for geese?
?

one in twenty geese at the moment are breeding birds? thats the opinion and a fact apparently.

realised to late to re edit this is a bit misleading it should be 1 in 20 geese at the lake at the moment are breeding birds that wont change till the late jan feb influx.

Given recent articles in the magazines, it would be easy to believe there is a massive population at the lake and in the high country. These articles will only increase the culling operations by the Feds etc. Dropping 300 birds in a day from a single setup, must mean there are heaps of bird, doesn't it(I saw seven deer in one valley on Saturday, so I now think that area I was in must have a lot of deer)? These are not helping the hunters like you and me, members on the goose hunting club but never seem to get an invite???? Well, ex member anyway.

well they are there but pressure and heavy pressure at that has changed behavior but if you let them build and settle yes the 300 shoot is still possible especialy if you have 150 deekes out . the strangest thing to me is the williest gamebird makes the same fn mistakes year after year ie going to places where the get hammered year after year??for instance if the geese hung around green park sands instead of say kaituna a big organised kill would be unviable but they dont and year after year they got bopped in kaituna f&g culls and the big wrath same at bromly?