Printable View
Was up the hurunui between sisters stream and lake sumner on Monday. No fish around but up to 100 dead geese floating in the shallows. Didn’t appear to be shot and most were floating the right way up. Looked like either poisoning or disease to me. Anyone seen this before? Not sure if relevant to fish numbers either. Didymo was quite bad.
would have been good to take a couple to Fish and Game for autopsy - give them something to do instead of picking on mum and kids fishing lol - but seriously would be good to know - we can get vagrant birds coming in from overseas and well what might they have - we all need to be vigilant - vagrants well any bird blown over here or arrives under own steam - one I remember well was a Northern Shoveler duck in the pond at Gisborne park - native to Papua New Guinea -looked very out of place amongst the mallards
I told doc and they said to report it to mpi which I have just done. They all looked fairly fresh. I also tried to call fish and game but no answer, probably all busy bullying children.
shallows of the stream or lake? botulism often builds up and wipes out heaps like that all of the sudden,
In the stream, halfway between lake and swing bridge
im not familiar with the area but it being a stream probably means the botulism could be on the river banks in their poo
I thought botulism was a warm weather pond issue so I might be pointing in the wrong direction
re the fish&game comments -hows abouts you give it a bloody rest till youre in full possession of the facts .I happen to know the F&G guys involved and theres obviously more to the story than a "sobbing"mother" lets on. my son had the same happen to him years ago on the coast but he didn t make a big bloody scene about it. F&G also gave him back his confiscated gear too!
re the geese=ho hum whats to say a little 1080 wasnt strategically spread ?? to cull this specific mob,.just a thought .
The amount of crap those things produce I don't think time of year matters. Watched over 100 fly past this morning on the way to another farmers saved paddock.
Been thinking on this. I surmise that it is odd that so many as a large mob are drifting down a river deaf, and right side up. I speculate that all these birds died quite suddenly . I think it possible that this large mob were killed as the result of injesting poisoned bait laid in a dry land feeding area, then flying to river to roost where the poison took effect. The resulting pollution of the river with the carcasses is likely an illegal consequence of what could have been a deliberate and cruel action. I think some carcasses should be recovered if possible for analysis and the police involved.
Just my surmise.
No point telling fish and game about Canada geese, they have had nothing to do with them since geese were removed from the schedule.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kotuku
facts 1080 thats about as far from facts as one could get - if you have facts from the Fand G picking on a lady and her kids fishing do share or we leave it in the 1080 to blame scenario
Anyway…. poisoning was my first thought. Telling fish and game/doc was not so much about the dead geese but water quality and possible secondary posioning.
someone could have poisoned them no agency using 1080 would risk the ability to use it by such a stupid act so rule that out and 1080 has diminished effect on birds - there are a range of toxins though that the unscrupulous could use - those going down that path though have little idea on the effects their action could take - such as bi kill on endemic species - I go back to my original point about biopsy - and it could be a natural toxin involved as some have said - but if someone did put out a toxin to kill geese they need to be stopped before they tip up non target specie's and that could be a wide range fish birds invertebrates the list goes on
I spoke to a vet that worked for mpi, sounded like they may have sent someone up for a look and to retrieve some for autopsy. Got the impression they were only worried about disease.
if you get some news please let us know keen to find out
Guys its not really a streamQuote:
Originally Posted by DylRuss
The North Branch of the Hurunui is pretty bloody big and you would struggle to walk across it even when low
So I doubt its a toxic build up because of slow moving water
She's a big river
Not an big angry river because it flows out of Lake Sumner which is like a huge buffer that flattens out floods
While the South Branch can blow out in only a few hours
I recall a very large kill of parries on a certain west coast farm a few years ago when a poison was set for a different critter. (Not 1080) it was hushed up.
Yes it’s a river but easily crossable. Pretty choked up with didymo but definitely a steady flow. From what I’ve seen and what I’ve read here I’d say it’s definitely poison.
im not going to share with you as you seem to know it all anyhow .ever heard of privacy -BTW born and bred and this happened on my home turf! happy with that .as stug has stated F&Ghave no control over canadas and havent for some years a fact which you seem oblivious to.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry the hunter
Is it possible it could have been a lighting strike like they get overseas quite often?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the...on-our-borders
Could be a concern
Breathing can be bad for you too - good old media scaremongering
The conclusion was the no one gave a fuck. MPI said they were having trouble getting hold of the right person at doc.
so you really don't knowQuote:
Originally Posted by kotuku
I very much doubt such a viris would kill a large mob all at once.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimp
The poison I allude to will aftsr a lag time put birds to sleep and unless picked up and warmed they will die of exposure. If that happennex to those geese their heads would ddroop into the water and they would drown.
The grass grub pellets are also leathal to birds bright green all of 3mm across and often chucked in with fertilizer.i saw 6-8 dead geese on paddock after it had been used..,the "oh they must have flown into irrigator" didn't wash with me.
yes you are likely referring to alphachloralose commercially available for bird control not a toxin but rather an anesthetic - knocks bird out to be collected and disposed of - readily available - I have used it professionally not easy to use there are problems unless one really prepares beforehand - be surprised if that was the culprit - easy to get hold of - birds normally where the poison was laid not traveling somewhere else - cant fly after ingesting that stuff - but could be - there are other nasty home brewed recipes some cockys know of - one is a herbicide mixed with wheat or maize and laid out - very illegal- - flips birds up side down - maize sweetcorn and pea farmers in Gisborne used it to try and control paradise pigeons and pheasants - wont name the herbicide but deadly effective -
Diazinon granules for grass grubQuote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
Dont drag me down to your level with your knowall attitude .conversation over .goodbyeQuote:
Originally Posted by Barry the hunter
Just catching up on this thread and was about to suggest that Fish and Game and MPI would be very concerned about any reports of mass bird deaths at the momentQuote:
Originally Posted by gimp
I buy poultry out of Australia and exports to our main markets have just been banned last week due to an outbreak of bird flu in Victoria
They have a level of confidence that these outbreaks could be linked to migrating birds from Antarctica, where there are reported mass deaths from bird flu currently
Not a lot stopping it reaching our shores if it can get to Aus
ABC article on it
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-...reak/103844240
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Pestoff Treated Wheat is a for the control of sparrows, pigeons, magpies, mynahs, and other grain eating birds in horticulture, domestic and industrial and agriculture areas. Safe to use and approved for use in New Zealand.
The Active ingredient in this product is Alphachloralose which is not a poison but a narcotic therefore it anaesthetises the brain rather than killing. Non target species can be revived in a warm place.
yes thats the product but I would be suprisd if that was the culprit in this case difficult to use works good on small birds we used it on feral pigeons on pea and sweetcorn crops I just don't think it would work well on a really big bird like a Canada
Maybe, maybe not. Delayed effect possible? Then there's the possibility of it being laid ose to the river as well.
could be there was a case in Tauranga on feral pigeons where some dropped into suburbs on way home to roost after ingesting it
Some years ago i was at an organised weekend hunt on mainly parries but also pukes and we were told if canadas were in range it was also a case of a 12guage enema
.Chatting to a cocky I know he said when using weedkillers in paddocks often hed find carcasses of parries and also geese and in his words "plough them in lessens me fertilser bill!
.Given this was primo dairy country anything that gutses itself silly on good dairy herd tucker was treated like cowshit on your gumboots.
BTW 200shooters took 860 birds that weekend over 80%of them parries .I bought half a dozen home and breasted them -fat as butter -if shot hadnt got em a heart attack was on the cards!!
goose shit is diabolical it kills burns grass its so toxic. Gadgetman may remember this .