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New Zealand is a country long renowned for its liberal bird bags, but the Central South Island region of that country leads all other regions with its limit of 50 birds a day per hunter. The area provides amazing duck hunting, but what is less well known is that it offers a wide range of other licensed waterfowl. Bird collectors have the opportunity to harvest geese, swan, shelduck, duck, and pukeko from the one blind.

The Christchurch-based company, The Best of New Zealand Hunting and Bird Shooting representing outfitter Brendon Matthews hunts there.Waimate is a small town in the heart of the best Central South Island bird hunting, only a three-hour drive from Christchurch International airport. Matthews has arranged access to dozens of separate ponds, rivers, swamps, and flooded fields, and he and his guides are able to handle hunting groups of up to six at a time. He is a guide who understands what serious bird hunters want.

Big Spreads

That method is blinds and decoys. It is a simple method, but one that uses guise and camouflage to its very best effect.

 The first hunt is for quantity and involves mallard ducks. The primary locations are farm ponds where numerous flocks of the birds either rest or return to at night to feed. The usual method employed in these circumstances is to build blinds, employ large decoy spreads and wait for birds to appear. The returning birds are resident birds so each pond cannot be overshot, hence the need to have a guide who has access to several ponds or waterways over the five days clients are hunting. Last season on opening day, two hunters shot their full bags of 100 ducks. The second hunt targets paradise shelducks, and usually takes place on larger, more open waterways where the birds feed locally on grass or stubble paddocks and return periodically to the water.

These large birds have beautiful plumage and are highly sought as trophies for mounting. The male is a glossy black with a black head, while the female is chestnut with a white head. Big tallies are often taken.

The third hunt is for the bird collector and occurs over flooded pasture. In this area Canada geese and the occasional swan; mallard, grey, paradise and shoveller ducks; protected black and grey teal; and other birds intermingle.

While harvest numbers here are smaller, the diversity cannot be matched anywhere in New Zealand.

 I visited this area on a Saturday in May this year, opening weekend, and saw four hunters take seven geese, one swan, forty mallard and grey ducks, eight shovellers (the limit is two per hunter), ten paradise ducks and two pukeko. A pukeko is a native New Zealand swamp bird with long red legs, purple blue plumage, and a red beak and helmet. Lodging for clients is a comfortable, rented farmhouse of moderate quality. Rooms for larger groups are shared. Meals are cooked locally and brought in, while lunches are provided each day in the field. This type of package best suits hunters traveling together in multiplies of two.

The bird season in New Zealand essentially runs from the first weekend in May to the end of July with the principal target species being mallard duck. A full hunting license costs $45 (U.S.). Matthews has a large array of Remington semi-automatic shotguns available to rent should you wish to leave your own weapon behind. Most clients do this to afford the hassle and red tape. Once you arrive in New Zealand, an all-inclusive, five-day hunt package costs $2650 (U.S.).

 This includes pick up and drop off from Christchurch airport. Opening weekend is invariably booked a year in advance, but hunts in late May and June are also very successful. Hunts for turkey and quail are also available for later in the season. Pheasant hunting can be arranged but will cost an additional $350 (U.S.) a day. 

There is no one in New Zealand who caters as fully for visiting bird shooters.

Contact: fairchase@paradise.net.nz