They are rarely a shooter's favoured target, but pukeko are on the list for the shooting season.
The duck shooting season opens on Saturday, and Fish & Game is expecting better than average bags, assuming the weather plays ball.
Northland Fish and Game Council manager Rudi Hoetjes said increased flights of game birds had been apparent around the region lately, especially on large water bodies including the
lakes and harbours of the Far North.
Northland's game bird hunters were overdue for a great opening weekend, he said, and although predicting the weather from a long-range forecast wasn't easy, he was hoping for wet and windy conditions for licence holders' benefit.
Mallards and grey ducks were expected to be about in excellent numbers throughout the region, with greater concentrations in middle to lower Northland, particularly in the vicinity of the harvesting of crops such as maize and kumara.
Paradise shelduck numbers were up on last year, and would congregate to forage around chicory and maize crops. Black swan numbers appeared to be similar to previous years, with the northern harbours a favourite haunt.
