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EP. 38 Waterfowl Hunting in New Zealand! · Bird Dogs and Big Game

0:18
Tyce: Hey everyone.
0:18
Tyce: Welcome to the Bird Dog Podcast.
0:20
Tyce: My name is Ty Erickson.
0:22
Tyce: I will be the host of your show today.
0:25
Tyce: Um, if you're new to listen to this podcast, little background information to me about me.
0:30
Tyce: I've been a hunter ever since I was a little kid.
0:34
Tyce: Had dogs ever since I was a little kid.
0:36
Tyce: Started training dog gun dogs professionally 17 years ago and still do that today.
0:42
Tyce: So all the information I share with you.
0:44
Tyce: Is from experience, it's from working with these animals.
0:48
Tyce: It's from hunting myself, being an avid hunter, hunting everything pretty much here in the west that can be hunted from upland game to waterfowl and how to do it, and how to have an awesome dog to do that with you.
1:00
Tyce: So if you're interested in that kind of information.
1:04
Tyce: Uh, this is the podcast for you.
1:07
Tyce: Uh, we've been a little MIA lately, I've been actually out of town and that's, in this podcast we're gonna talk about that.
1:13
Tyce: And so I'm hoping it's, it's a struggle and you're busy with, uh, life's work, training dogs.
1:20
Tyce: And this podcast really does not make me much money at this point.
1:24
Tyce: And so it's more of just a service thing.
1:26
Tyce: But I enjoy talking.
1:28
Tyce: Dogs and having people on here, so sometimes it gets put on the back burner a little bit.
1:32
Tyce: So appreciate you guys supporting us by, you know, um, some of the products, um, that we've teamed up with, um, uh, like nda, dog beds, all American canine.
1:45
Tyce: And, uh, we're gonna put any of the links that.
1:47
Tyce: Help us out to continue, you know, to produce the show in the show notes.
1:52
Tyce: So if you guys are looking for an awesome dog bed, like a cot style bed in your house, um, we recommend the NDA dog beds.
1:59
Tyce: They're awesome.
2:01
Tyce: They, uh.
2:02
Tyce: They're just bulletproof.
2:03
Tyce: Get the heavy duty vinyl, and I think it's the 44 by 27 anodized aluminum is what I have for my dogs, and it's, it's, uh, pretty dang bulletproof.
2:13
Tyce: If over time something does happen to the cop part, you just buy a replacement piece, slide it in, and you're ready to roll and you got, got a brand new, um, pretty much a brand new bed.
2:23
Tyce: So All American canine, they have all sorts of cool supplements, weight gainer.
2:27
Tyce: Um, fish oils, stuff like that.
2:30
Tyce: If you're looking for some healthy stuff, if your dog's gonna follow the link there.
2:34
Tyce: Also, crispy boots, that's what we use when we're hiking around the hills, chasing upland birds, you know, working each day.
2:43
Tyce: So check out Crispy USA.
2:45
Tyce: Um, most of you guys know about Crispy, but just wanna put a shout out to them.
2:49
Tyce: They've helped us out and, um, and we're.
2:53
Tyce: We really love their boots.
2:54
Tyce: So, um, if you're looking for a gunner kennel, uh, hit us up.
2:58
Tyce: Shoot us an email at the Bird Dog podcast@gmail.com and, uh, we can get you a hookup on those too.
3:05
Tyce: Or if you're looking for an eco of any sort, um.
3:10
Tyce: We can help you out with that also.
3:12
Tyce: So anyhow, uh, hope everyone's doing great.
3:16
Tyce: Summer is here.
3:17
Tyce: Oh, one more thing I forgot about.
3:19
Tyce: Follow us on Instagram.
3:21
Tyce: That helps us out.
3:22
Tyce: Get the word out.
3:23
Tyce: Follow us at the Bird Dog Podcast.
3:25
Tyce: That's my Instagram.
3:26
Tyce: There.
3:27
Tyce: Also, Utah Bird Dog Training is my training Instagram.
3:31
Tyce: So, um, we'll post stuff on there.
3:33
Tyce: Also filled bread, golden retrievers.
3:35
Tyce: Is our breeding website for our hunting golden retrievers that my wife helps me out with.
3:40
Tyce: We, we breed and sell some awesome litters on the side and it's fun'cause we know the dogs so we know how to better the breed and breed two dogs together, try to produce even better dogs than mom and dad were.
3:52
Tyce: So if you're looking for a future golden retriever hunting companion, check that out.
3:57
Tyce: We're kind of in a transition area.
3:59
Tyce: Some of our older females have retired.
4:02
Tyce: And we had a couple that were coming up through the ranks and, um, one got a pyometra and another one had another issue.
4:08
Tyce: So we unfortunately, um, couldn't breed them.
4:11
Tyce: So we're out down a couple dogs, but we have some young guns that are coming up.
4:15
Tyce: So this next year we should have a few more litters hitting the ground, offer some pups from people.
4:20
Tyce: So we're pretty much sold out for this year, for 2025, but if you're looking ahead or looking into the future.
4:28
Tyce: For a dog in 2026, uh, we should be able to help you out.
4:31
Tyce: So hit us up there.
4:33
Tyce: Um, our website's the same thing, Utah bird dog training.com.
4:37
Tyce: If you're looking for help, um, getting your dog trained, you can check us out there.
4:41
Tyce: So, um, it's been a busy summer.
4:44
Tyce: We're grateful for all the work that we have and training dogs and, and, um, our awesome clients.
4:49
Tyce: And, um, it's crazy.
4:51
Tyce: I mean, we're already mid.
4:54
Tyce: Uh, June here and June, July.
4:56
Tyce: I mean, July, August.
4:57
Tyce: And we're hunting doves September 1st.
4:59
Tyce: So, um, we're two and a half months out.
5:03
Tyce: Um, July, August, yep.
5:05
Tyce: Two and a half months out from starting Grouse hunt in the dove hunt here in Utah.
5:10
Tyce: So pretty crazy.
5:12
Tyce: And I think there's some early season till and stuff like that in September.
5:15
Tyce: We have the Youth Hunt in September, chucker here starting the end of September.
5:19
Tyce: Um, I'm really optimistic about a uping.
5:23
Tyce: Game, bird seasons coming up here in the west.
5:26
Tyce: I feel like numbers are up and doing well overall.
5:29
Tyce: So, um, we went into winter, I think, having good numbers on the ground in most locations, and so that should hopefully have an upward and onward trend.
5:39
Tyce: So, um.
5:41
Tyce: In this podcast, we'll go over gear.
5:43
Tyce: We'll go over training questions.
5:45
Tyce: So if you guys have any training questions that you're struggling with on your dog or want some tips or tricks, uh, go ahead and, and, um, send us an email at the at, um, the Bird Dog podcast.
5:57
Tyce: Um, send us, um, an email to the Bird BirdDog podcast@gmail.com and we'll get those questions answered for you.
6:04
Tyce: Or you can also DM us, us on Instagram there too.
6:08
Tyce: So.
6:09
Tyce: I recently returned from New Zealand about a week ago, and, uh, it's a goal.
6:15
Tyce: It had been a goal of mine for years and years to get over there and do some big game hunting for, uh, red Stag and Shammy and Himalayan tar, um, which I was fortunate enough to be able to get.
6:26
Tyce: I.
6:27
Tyce: Each of those species while I was there.
6:30
Tyce: And, um, we were more of a DIY thing and then met up with a guide friend, um, that helped us out.
6:37
Tyce: And, um, as we were finishing up a, a tar hunt, a DIY tar hunt, we ended up talking to the, the helicopter pilot and said, Hey.
6:46
Tyce: And as I was driving around, I saw these, these cool ducks out in the fields.
6:52
Tyce: Um, and I was asking the guy about'em, and, you know, what are those ducks?
6:57
Tyce: And I'd seen them before.
6:59
Tyce: I looked into duck hunting in New Zealand, even before I'd gone over there.
7:04
Tyce: So I was kind of aware of'em.
7:05
Tyce: But I saw these, they're called the Paradise.
7:07
Tyce: Shell duck.
7:08
Tyce: They call'em Perrys for short, but they're all over in these fields and just beautiful birds.
7:13
Tyce: And, and I was talking to the pilot about'em and just hunting ducks in general.
7:17
Tyce: And he says, well, my dad is actually a duck hunting guide.
7:21
Tyce: I'm like, oh, cool.
7:23
Tyce: And I, I said, you know, and we were planning to meet up with some friends and some stormy weather was coming in, and I asked him, I said, does he have time to maybe take us out and.
7:33
Tyce: I do some duck hunting.
7:34
Tyce: And he said, he called him up and he said, no, he doesn't have some, he doesn't have time.
7:38
Tyce: And then later that evening he called us back and said, Hey, my dad can take you guys out for a morning hunt if you're interested in going.
7:45
Tyce: And, um, so we said, yeah, let's do it.
7:49
Tyce: That would be awesome.
7:50
Tyce: We had about a half day to, to burn.
7:52
Tyce: And so, um, I'll just kind of jump into this hunting story.
7:55
Tyce: It's, it's pretty remarkable.
7:58
Tyce: Pretty funny.
7:59
Tyce: Um, but the guy was great.
8:01
Tyce: He showed up.
8:02
Tyce: He had an old Land Cruiser, like an 84 Land Cruiser with the snorkeler snorkel on it.
8:07
Tyce: And these guys are pretty legit.
8:09
Tyce: They, they use their snorkels and when the rivers get high in New Zealand and they get a lot of rain, they'll, they'll go up high and these guys will four wheel way back in and, um.
8:19
Tyce: And go hunting, you know, for, for big game and stuff like that.
8:22
Tyce: But, uh, this, this foreigners or this Toyota Lion Cruiser suite.
8:26
Tyce: And one thing I was impressed when we drove over the fields, I don't know if you'd kept up to date on the suspension or it was just the Lion Cruiser in general for that year.
8:34
Tyce: That thing was just smooth.
8:36
Tyce: The ride is, we just cruised across what I felt like should have been these pretty bumpy pasture grassy.
8:43
Tyce: Filled.
8:44
Tyce: So anyhow, the gentleman picked us up.
8:47
Tyce: He, uh, had um, a couple shotguns for us, a couple boxes of shells.
8:52
Tyce: He had one over under, and I can't remember what brand they were even for sure.
8:57
Tyce: And then he had an, um, a pump shotgun, and I had that one and used that one.
9:05
Tyce: He had, he'd taken care of it, oiled it, and it was really smooth, the action and everything.
9:10
Tyce: And, uh, had some box of shells.
9:12
Tyce: He had one high brass box of still shot and another low brass box of still shot.
9:18
Tyce: and, um, I.
9:20
Tyce: I'm trying to think what else there was.
9:22
Tyce: And then he brought us some like rubber, like cement boots that we could use.
9:26
Tyce: 'cause we weren't, I guess, using waiters.
9:28
Tyce: And he, he told us where we weren't really planned.
9:30
Tyce: He hadn't really done a lot of scouting and, and, and some clients were coming in supposedly that weekend from Australia to do some hunting with them.
9:38
Tyce: So I think he had some spots kind of saved more for them, so he just kind of disclosed us in.
9:42
Tyce: So we ended up going, uh, getting there before light.
9:46
Tyce: And sneak in walking into a, an area where they'd, he'd set up this little makeshift blind.
9:52
Tyce: It was a little reservoir.
9:54
Tyce: If I were to guess how big it was.
9:56
Tyce: It was probably, it was probably, uh, three to four acres big, um, around that range.
10:04
Tyce: Five acres, something, something along there.
10:07
Tyce: But, um, we got into the blind.
10:10
Tyce: You could hear some cool sounds, different birds.
10:12
Tyce: You're not used to out in the marsh.
10:14
Tyce: And, um, my goal was I really wanted a pair of the paradise, um, ducks.
10:20
Tyce: And so we're sitting there and it's like pretty much barely light.
10:27
Tyce: And I was talking to him, I said, what time do you guys have shooting hours?
10:30
Tyce: And he said, no.
10:31
Tyce: He said, yeah.
10:31
Tyce: And I said, what, when was it?
10:33
Tyce: And he is like, oh, it was like 15 minutes ago.
10:35
Tyce: I'm like, I could, like, I could hardly even see anything.
10:38
Tyce: And so he goes.
10:40
Tyce: We could hear this paradise.
10:41
Tyce: He's like, that's a paradise duck.
10:43
Tyce: And it was just outside the decoys on the left of us.
10:47
Tyce: And when we got there, kind of rewind a little bit.
10:50
Tyce: It was a little funny.
10:51
Tyce: There were a bunch of decoys set out.
10:53
Tyce: Oh, did you set these up?
10:54
Tyce: And he's like, no, they've been here like three or four weeks.
10:56
Tyce: I'm like, uh.
10:58
Tyce: Okay.
10:58
Tyce: I am like, I don't know how these ducks are, but it seems like most ducks, if there's not a heavy migration and decoys are just left out, they're gonna be used to'em and not really want to come into'em.
11:07
Tyce: And he kind of joked around about that too.
11:10
Tyce: He said, yeah, sometimes I'll, you know, set up a wave from the decoys and shoot birds and like, yeah, I've seen that late season.
11:16
Tyce: The ducks will get kind of weary of these.
11:17
Tyce: So I don't know if he had the decoys out and set us up over'em.
11:21
Tyce: So.
11:22
Tyce: Quote unquote, we felt like we were duck hunting'cause we had like decoys out.
11:26
Tyce: But we probably would've done better duck hunting if he just would've.
11:29
Tyce: Taking the decoys away and, and we wouldn't even had'em or just had like one or two little motion decoys and threw'em out.
11:36
Tyce: So birds were pretty educated.
11:38
Tyce: There wasn't that many ducks really, on the lake.
11:41
Tyce: Um, but there was this paradise duck squawk to the left.
11:45
Tyce: And he goes, and I go, well, can I go over there and, you know, jump shoot that thing?
11:50
Tyce: 'cause there was a dyker on the pond and this bird was only.
11:54
Tyce: You could see the kind of the silhouette of it.
11:56
Tyce: It was only like 60 yards away, so.
11:59
Tyce: Anyhow, I drop out, sneak around the dyke, I crawl up through the grass and I see what I think is this paradise duck right out in front of me calling and I boom, I pull up the shotgun and shoot it and the thing just, it looks like it wings up.
12:12
Tyce: And I'm like, oh.
12:13
Tyce: I'm just like, I didn't really care.
12:15
Tyce: I just wanted one.
12:16
Tyce: So I just ground swatted it and, uh, walked back over the decoys.
12:20
Tyce: He had a dog, but it was a springer spaniel and it wasn't really trained for.
12:24
Tyce: Waterfowl, um, it would get in the water and swim, but didn't have much for a retrieve.
12:30
Tyce: So, um, I think her name was Molly.
12:35
Tyce: I can't remember for sure, but cute little dog.
12:38
Tyce: Anyhow, I, I go over there and sitting there and as it starting to get, and oh, when I went back to the decoys, I go.
12:44
Tyce: There were three paradise ducks that came right in on the edge of the decoys right when you shot, and I guess they were landing or landed or something.
12:51
Tyce: I said, oh man, I didn't even see'em again.
12:53
Tyce: It was so dark.
12:54
Tyce: And uh, so they said, yeah, they flew away.
12:58
Tyce: And I went, well, I was happy we'd got one at least.
13:00
Tyce: Well, it started getting light.
13:02
Tyce: Come to find out.
13:03
Tyce: The thing I'd shot was actually a decoy.
13:06
Tyce: So I have never shot a decoy on purpose in my life, but it was so, the bird sounded like it was coming from the decoy, and we all thought it the decoy area, and we all thought it was a paradise duck, but the duck must have been out there another 20, 30 yards.
13:21
Tyce: Um, and we just, it sounded like it was right there, and we thought it was it.
13:25
Tyce: So anyways, we started looking at it.
13:27
Tyce: It started getting light, and I'm like, eh, that thing's not moving at all.
13:31
Tyce: And, and, uh.
13:32
Tyce: And it was kind of angled up and I started looking around at his other decoys that had been sitting there and kind of ha, some of'em are half sinking.
13:39
Tyce: And I was like, yeah, I don't think that's a duck.
13:42
Tyce: I think that's a decoy.
13:44
Tyce: Sure enough, it got light enough.
13:45
Tyce: I'd shot a decoy.
13:46
Tyce: So we, we were laughing about it though.
13:48
Tyce: It was pretty funny.
13:50
Tyce: But um, as we were sitting there on the pond, some mallards came by.
13:54
Tyce: Shot one mallard that went down.
13:56
Tyce: There's quite a few mallards there in New Zealand.
13:58
Tyce: Um, and then there were some really cool shovelers that have a different pattern to'em.
14:04
Tyce: And my buddy ended up shooting one of those that we thought went right down and was dead, but we didn't have a duck, a dog to get to it.
14:11
Tyce: And the bird was just floating out there looking like it was dead and it kind of started coming to and swam off and.
14:17
Tyce: If the dog wouldn't go get it.
14:18
Tyce: And we ended up not being able to recover the birds.
14:21
Tyce: So that was kind of a bummer'cause it was looked like a really cool species.
14:24
Tyce: So anyways, there was a bunch of Canadian geese there too that came off, but they like saw the decoys and kind of avoided'em and headed out to a field.
14:34
Tyce: And so I.
14:35
Tyce: Later that morning, we could still hear some geese.
14:37
Tyce: So me and my friend, me and my buddy Austin, we hiked down the dike and kind of out away from the decoys and hidden the grass, and there were two wave, two more waves of Canadian geese that came off and they just, I mean, they came off low.
14:52
Tyce: If they would've come over us, we would've beat'em up pretty bad.
14:55
Tyce: But they just came off a hair to our left about a hundred yards.
14:59
Tyce: So we didn't get right in their pattern zone.
15:01
Tyce: So those ended up getting away, which is kind of a bummer.
15:03
Tyce: But, um, New Zealand and New Zealand Canadian geese.
15:07
Tyce: I don't know if they flew there or they were released there.
15:10
Tyce: Um, I can probably actually look it up as we're talking, but, um, they are.
15:16
Tyce: They are considered an invasive species like many things in New Zealand.
15:22
Tyce: Um, and so they, according to my knowledge, again, check your facts before you just go and get too crazy about this.
15:30
Tyce: But the Canadian geese, um, are not protected.
15:34
Tyce: They're basically just invasive, so you can shoot'em.
15:37
Tyce: However, whenever, how many you want, um.
15:41
Tyce: Uh, so, and they're,'cause they just destroy the crops and essentially there's not really many predators in New Zealand.
15:50
Tyce: They do have some, they do have, um, I guess some weasels, vermins, um, there's a few, there are a few little varmints that can get the eggs and kill baby birds.
16:03
Tyce: And that's why the kiwi I think has gone down too because of that reason.
16:07
Tyce: But.
16:08
Tyce: Um, anyways, the, the geese seemed to do pretty well, so, um, it looks like, Uh, just looking it up, it looks like the Canadian geese were imported from North America.
16:19
Tyce: They were brought to New Zealand by the a, a acclimatization societies.
16:24
Tyce: Groups formed by early European settlers to introduce familiar species for sport, aesthetics and perceived utility.
16:31
Tyce: Um, it began early in the 19 hundreds around the south island, and they're deliberately spread by fish and game local hunting groups throughout the mid 20th century to establish a wild bird.
16:43
Tyce: Population now they inhabit most of the south island and parts of the north island.
16:49
Tyce: Um, originally they were protected game bird and had regulated hunting seasons, but due to the explosive population growth, damage to crops, risk to aviation, risk to aviation, there's legal status change in 2007 or 2011 and removed the Canadian goose.
17:07
Tyce: From the game bird schedule reclassifying them as an unprotected species.
17:12
Tyce: This means you can, they can be cold or hunted year round without a license in most areas.
17:19
Tyce: Um, there's just tons of pasture land, so the numbers can grow really good.
17:25
Tyce: Um.
17:27
Tyce: So, yeah, you can call'em, you can go out there and shoot'em with rifles.
17:30
Tyce: They get pretty smart though.
17:32
Tyce: Um, there's no license or se required, but, um, they do get pretty smart and the guys, they acted like they kinda had a hard time patterning'em, so I don't know if,'cause there's just so much grass and honestly like a cornfield they're coming to.
17:45
Tyce: Um, but the Canadian goose is now just, you shoot'em up as many as you want.
17:50
Tyce: Anytime of the year, shoot'em with rifles, whatever it may be.
17:53
Tyce: So, kind of interesting about the Canadian goose, so.
17:58
Tyce: Um, let's go back.
17:59
Tyce: We tried to get on these Canadian geese didn't work out and so I was hoping this guy had some land.
18:05
Tyce: We could even just go jump shoot some of these paradise shell ducks because I really wanted some of them.
18:10
Tyce: So we ended up driving around to a farmer that he knew had a bunch of land, and as we were driving around we saw these paradise.
18:18
Tyce: Shell duck, these Perry Ducks short for paradise ducks out in these fields.
18:23
Tyce: And he tried to have us.
18:26
Tyce: You know, go down the fence line and then he'd walk and try to push'em to us.
18:31
Tyce: But it was flat and I was like, this is not gonna work.
18:33
Tyce: I mean, the, the ducks could see us and we'd start walking and they'd just fly away.
18:38
Tyce: And I was hoping we'd see, have some type of little pond or something we could sneak up on'em and shoot'em.
18:43
Tyce: I just wanted to get a, a couple birds and, um, that I could take home possibly to taxi me.
18:50
Tyce: So, um.
18:52
Tyce: Rewind back a little bit.
18:54
Tyce: Um, I did end up as we were sitting on that pond and I'd heard you can hunt'em, there were some black swans and in New Zealand you can hunt the, the black swan.
19:06
Tyce: It was supposedly, originally there were black swans that were indigenous to New Zealand and they were brought back into New Zealand from.
19:17
Tyce: I took some notes down here from actually Australia and there were some black swans.
19:23
Tyce: I said, oh, that'd be cool to get a black swan, you know?
19:26
Tyce: Um, and so ended up, uh.
19:30
Tyce: Seeing a few swans on this pond, and there was about, he said there was like 30 on the neighbor's next pond.
19:36
Tyce: And I said, you know, can we shoot those?
19:38
Tyce: And he said, yeah, you can shoot those.
19:40
Tyce: So I didn't wanna shoot a bunch of'em, but they were just kind of swimming around and so he ended up pushing'em.
19:47
Tyce: Oh, excuse me.
19:48
Tyce: He ended up pushing'em around the pond and um, I ended up sneaking out and ended up jump shooting one of these black swans.
19:56
Tyce: So, um, they're really pretty birds, super long necks.
20:00
Tyce: The necks on'em are just, they seem like they're four feet long, bright red beaks.
20:06
Tyce: Really cool looking.
20:08
Tyce: With white wing feathers and, um, and ended up getting a black swan.
20:13
Tyce: So the little springer spaniel, he swam out there in the water, went and sniffed it, and decided he did not want anything to do with that.
20:22
Tyce: And so he left it.
20:23
Tyce: So we had to wait for the wind to blow it to the shoreline, and then we were able to, to pick it up.
20:28
Tyce: So, um, just a little background information about the Black Swan.
20:33
Tyce: Um, I believe you can shoot up to five of them per day in some areas, so.
20:38
Tyce: Um, pretty prevalent.
20:40
Tyce: Um, one thing that I didn't feel very sporting like when I shot the one, the other twos just kind of swam off, so I'm not sure if they are all that way or these ones just weren't hunted a lot or what this, what the reason behind it were.
20:57
Tyce: So I wouldn't consider myself a black swan expert, but.
21:01
Tyce: I was kind of a little surprised when I shot at their buddies and the other two just kind of swam off.
21:05
Tyce: I almost felt like I was shooting farm ducks that didn't even know how to fly.
21:10
Tyce: So that being said, it wasn't very, wasn't like a decoyed a man.
21:14
Tyce: Really cool.
21:15
Tyce: That would've been cool.
21:16
Tyce: A bunch of black swans come decoin in.
21:18
Tyce: So apparently he said they can fly if they want.
21:22
Tyce: I don't know if they just don't get a lot of pressure, so some of'em just don't fly a lot.
21:27
Tyce: So that was a little information about the Black Swan, but.
21:32
Tyce: Um, they were brought in a little information about them if you do wanna hunt'em.
21:35
Tyce: They were introduced to New Zealand in the 1860s by European settlers for ornamental and game purposes.
21:42
Tyce: Um, they're found, majority of the breeding populations are down on the south island of New Zealand, and that's where we were.
21:51
Tyce: Um.
21:53
Tyce: They have a wingspan of nearly two meters and can be up to 13 pounds of weight.
21:58
Tyce: Um, uh, they breed, you know, they pair up, um, long term and, uh, they do have regulated seasons and they can be territorial and aggressive during breeding season.
22:12
Tyce: Just like most your, uh, swans.
22:16
Tyce: Seem to be, um, lifespan is typically 10 to 15 years, but they can live longer if undisturbed in captivity up to 40 years with optimal care.
22:27
Tyce: And main food, main food is like pond, weeds, algae, el grass, duck weed, and sometimes they'll graze out in the, in the pastures and stuff like that.
22:37
Tyce: So, um.
22:40
Tyce: Breeding season is July to April in New Zealand, peaking in the as winter water levels recede.
22:47
Tyce: And they can have up to two broods a year, typically five eggs, um, and sometimes more than that incubation period, 35 to 40 days.
22:57
Tyce: And both parents will hang around for nine months, um, with the babies to get'em on their way.
23:03
Tyce: Um.
23:05
Tyce: Uh, it was, yeah, ba daily bag limit has increased up to five swans per day increase from three in 2025.
23:15
Tyce: And that's pretty much the, the basic overall information.
23:22
Tyce: The black swan, cool birds.
23:23
Tyce: Again, not very impressed on their ability to fly away when your body gets shot, so, but.
23:32
Tyce: Cool to hunt.
23:33
Tyce: Cool.
23:33
Tyce: To cool to have gotten a black swan.
23:36
Tyce: So, um, we're gonna go back and jump back to the Paradise hunt, paradise Duck.
23:41
Tyce: So we left the pond after we picked up the swan and went to a neighboring property and we're just kind of driving around and seeing what you see commonly is.
23:52
Tyce: A pair of paradise ducks out in the green grass pastures, and they're just kind of out there feeding kind of almost more like a goose.
23:59
Tyce: And they're kind of bigger than a duck.
24:01
Tyce: They're like a big duck, but not a full-sized goose.
24:05
Tyce: So they're shell ducks, they're kind of in between, you know, they're bigger mallards and stuff like that, but not, they're kinda almost like a snow goose type size of a bird.
24:15
Tyce: Um, but they are, I.
24:19
Tyce: They're really cool birds and they, uh, so, um, yeah, so if you see a pair of'em out in the fields, those are usually the older birds is what the, our guide was telling us.
24:34
Tyce: And then if you see a bunch of'em together, that's probably young family group or young birds hanging out together.
24:38
Tyce: So it sounds like pretty much when they get older, they're gonna kind of pair off and go do their thing out in some fields.
24:46
Tyce: So, um, anyways, we were driving around and we were trying to do these little pushes and it was kind of starting to rain and I was just not very hopeful.
24:56
Tyce: I'm like, man, we can't even get close to these birds, and they're just out in these.
25:00
Tyce: Pat s just grazing, and you guys probably know how to sneak in onto a, a duck that's out in the middle of the field just doesn't really work.
25:08
Tyce: They usually just see you coming and they're like, all right, we're out.
25:11
Tyce: So that's kind of how it was with these guys.
25:14
Tyce: And so the gentleman said, well, sometimes if you take your dog out and you let her just run around, they'll come fly around you and kind of investigate the dog and kind of squawk at it.
25:26
Tyce: And, and you can maybe get some shots at it.
25:31
Tyce: And I was like, that sound in my mind I was saying I was pretty doubtful.
25:35
Tyce: I'm like, that sounds like the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
25:38
Tyce: So anytime I've ever been in the marsh and I see my dog and me are together and we see a duck, the duck, just as soon as the sea just flies and does not want to come back and check you out, they know pretty well what you are.
25:51
Tyce: So.
25:53
Tyce: Anyhow.
25:54
Tyce: So I said, well, if you wanna try it, you know, whatever you think.
25:57
Tyce: And so we went down and got down on the opposite side of the field and walked down this fence line.
26:03
Tyce: And you know, you could see us as easy as poss, easy as pie.
26:07
Tyce: And so he ended up walking, taking his dog, his little springer spaniel.
26:11
Tyce: It was black and white and it was just kind of running around the green grass in front of'em.
26:15
Tyce: And sure enough, a pair of those paradise ducks came up outta the field and flew right towards him and circled them.
26:22
Tyce: Like a magpie or bird that's bugged at something and made a couple passes and then flew off and I was like, what in the world are these?
26:32
Tyce: Do these, the weirdest ducks I've ever seen?
26:35
Tyce: So I was like, well, I don't think sneaking on'em gonna work.
26:40
Tyce: So sure enough, we said, I said, let's try that again.
26:43
Tyce: So we got the shotguns and there were a couple out in this field and we walked right at'em and sure, shooting those suckers came flying, fly off the field and right towards us and started flying around us and the dog and we ended up shooting them.
26:58
Tyce: So we did that two or three more times with three or four where there were groups that had three or four birds in'em.
27:04
Tyce: And they did the same thing.
27:05
Tyce: If they'd see that dog run around, they'd fly right towards you, fly around the dog, which was right around us.
27:11
Tyce: And then we were able to shoot the birds.
27:13
Tyce: So, um, when I knocked down the first Paradise Duck, I was absolutely pumped.
27:18
Tyce: Um, the females have this beautiful white head with kind of this crimson, brown bat, um, back and, and, uh, white on their wings and.
27:29
Tyce: Let me pull up my pictures.
27:30
Tyce: So I in my phone here so I can tell you exactly what they, the colorings on'em, and I'll post some pictures on Instagram of the black swan plus these guys.
27:38
Tyce: But they, uh, yeah, they kind of have like, their wings have like green, like a really dark green and white shoulders and black wings and this reddish brown all down their backs and black and they're just.
27:54
Tyce: I mean, so cool with these eagle white, pure white heads.
27:57
Tyce: So, um, the colors on'em are just spectacular.
28:00
Tyce: The males are more, appear to be black, but they have like blacks and blues and greens and just, um, really cool.
28:09
Tyce: But the females really stand out.
28:11
Tyce: They're actually.
28:12
Tyce: They're both really pretty, but I would say they're probably prettier than the males.
28:17
Tyce: Um, just looking at'em, which is funny'cause most of the time in the ducks in the US it's opposite of that.
28:24
Tyce: The females are usually just brown and don't really have a lot of color and just to blend in for the nest.
28:30
Tyce: But the males really have the court and have the color, so it's kind of swapped there, you know, so it's kind of interesting.
28:37
Tyce: On these ducks.
28:38
Tyce: So anyhow, we ended up the hunting trip, uh, with, I think we ended up shooting five, four or five shell ducks.
28:46
Tyce: And then the day, uh, kind of ran out and um, and that was pretty much it.
28:52
Tyce: So, but I did end up getting a pair of'em, actually had three of'em that I'm gonna have.
28:58
Tyce: Um, I took to a local taxi room.
29:00
Tyce: It's there, he's gonna prep'em and then ship'em.
29:02
Tyce: To me, which will hopefully be um, then my taxidermist here can hopefully put'em together and they will be in my office.
29:10
Tyce: So Paradise, shell duck.
29:12
Tyce: Just a awesome bird.
29:14
Tyce: If you're interested in going to New Zealand and hunting'em, you do have to be there.
29:17
Tyce: During hunting seasons, you do a bird hunting license.
29:21
Tyce: I think it was 27, you could buy a day license and it was$27, I believe it was nz.
29:27
Tyce: So New Zealand dollar, which translated to.
29:32
Tyce: Um, it's not quite half price, so it's probably around$20 roughly us per day.
29:38
Tyce: So pretty cheap to hunt'em.
29:40
Tyce: Um, you are required to do still shot, but there are no plugs required in New Zealand, so you could have as many shots as you want in there.
29:48
Tyce: And the Paradise shell duck.
29:50
Tyce: I mean, you see'em all over the place, but again, mostly they're kind of paired up.
29:53
Tyce: I'm not sure exactly if it's this time of season getting.
29:57
Tyce: Closer to breeding season, but we did see more pairs than big, uh, groups, so I know there are, there was a cool video on YouTube I saw a few months ago about an outfitter that really looked like he decoy, tried to decoy in the shell, the shell ducks and, and bring'em in and, and hunt'em that way.
30:18
Tyce: A gentleman I went with, he just kind of did it on the side.
30:21
Tyce: Wasn't, uh, wasn't, I would say a legit, Hey, this is what I'm doing for my business.
30:27
Tyce: He was just an older gentleman, really, gratefully, took us out and showed us, and we were able to get some birds.
30:33
Tyce: But I wouldn't say he's an a, a big outfitter per se.
30:36
Tyce: So.
30:36
Tyce: Anyhow, that being, this being the Bird Dog podcast, just wanted to talk about hunting those, the Black Swan and the Perrys, or the Paradise Shell Duck of New Zealand.
30:45
Tyce: If you do go hunting there and have time to squeeze a day in, um, to your big game hunting, I would highly recommend it.
30:53
Tyce: If you're a bird hunter and waterfowl hunter, I was a little disappointed.
30:56
Tyce: I was hoping we'd have more of a good decoin shoot where it'd get some of their cool shovelers they had there.
31:03
Tyce: Um, he called them s scs.
31:05
Tyce: There were some s scs.
31:07
Tyce: They looked like ducks.
31:08
Tyce: I'm not sure if there are s scop ducks.
31:10
Tyce: Exactly.
31:11
Tyce: But those ones are protected.
31:12
Tyce: There are some protected waterfowl.
31:14
Tyce: There are species in New Zealand, so be make sure you know what you're shooting, but you can shoot the Paradise Ducks.
31:21
Tyce: You can shoot the mallard.
31:22
Tyce: There's a lot of mallards.
31:23
Tyce: Um, the shovelers, you can't shoot any of the till.
31:26
Tyce: I think they have some gray.
31:29
Tyce: What gray wing till something along, some type of till, but you couldn't shoot any of the till there.
31:35
Tyce: Um, they were protected and so you can't just go shoot everything when it comes to waterfowl.
31:40
Tyce: But there are some cool species of Paradise duck, which used to kind of struggle, but their numbers have actually boomed and done really well.
31:47
Tyce: And you can shoot the black swan, you shoot Canadian geese, you can shoot the shovelers.
31:51
Tyce: So there are a decent amount of birds that you can waterfowl, that you can hunt, but native only to New Zealand.
31:58
Tyce: In this world, according to what I've found and heard, and seen is the paradise shell duck.
32:03
Tyce: So if you want to collect that species, um, I put a high in your list and go spend a day out there in New Zealand hunting those ducks.
32:11
Tyce: And remember if you're struggling to hunt'em with, um, decoy'em or you're struggling to hunt'em.
32:19
Tyce: With jump shooting'em, take your dog out, let it run around and walk right towards'em in a field.
32:25
Tyce: And as your dogs run around, there's a good chance those dogs, those birds are gonna fly right at you.
32:29
Tyce: Do a couple passes around you kinda looking at your dog wondering what the heck it is or, or being territorial about it.
32:36
Tyce: And you're probably gonna shoot some,'cause that's how we harvest them.
32:39
Tyce: In New Zealand.
32:40
Tyce: So pretty fun, pretty cool adventure.
32:42
Tyce: That's why I love going to other places.
32:45
Tyce: And going hunting is just the great people you meet.
32:47
Tyce: You can meet some dogs sometimes that are cool or maybe not so good, but still fun to always, um, just see the way people do things.
32:56
Tyce: And of course, if you're lucky enough to harvest some of those amazing species, you can do that.
33:01
Tyce: So last note, our taxidermist, he's going to, he has a way of preparing the, preparing the.
33:09
Tyce: Uh, birds and shipping'em back to the us.
33:12
Tyce: Um, his name's Tyrone, T-Y-R-O-N, uh, taxidermy.
33:17
Tyce: He's there in New Zealand on the south island.
33:19
Tyce: If you're looking him up and need a place, a guy that can get your birds home, he seemed pretty confident on the skinning and salting process and rehydrating'em.
33:28
Tyce: When you get'em back and, and kind of step by step what to do.
33:31
Tyce: So open those, come through safe and sound and we'll be able to put those, um, in the office.
33:37
Tyce: So, uh, hope you guys have a great day.
33:40
Tyce: That's gonna be it for this podcast.
33:41
Tyce: And a little story about hunting New Zealand and those species.
33:45
Tyce: And, uh, save your, save your pennies up.
33:47
Tyce: Go there life short.
33:49
Tyce: And, uh, it's fun to get out there and have some cool adventures and hunt those birds.
33:53
Tyce: So, uh, the hunt's right around the corner.
33:56
Tyce: Uh, make sure you take time each day to work your dog.
33:59
Tyce: Um, the time is now to get'em ready for this fall, so we'll talk to you later.
34:04
Tyce: Good luck hunting and we'll see you in the next show.