Ducks Plying High On Opening Day

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 87, 16 May 1949, Page 5

Ducks Plying High On Opening Day

Saturday morning’s glorious weather was roundly condemned by duck-shooters who crouched shivering in chilly mai mais at frosty dawn. There were ducks around, sure, enough, but they soared out of range against a clear, bright sky. Actually, circumstances favoured the ducks all through the Bay. Last week’s flooding had spread the birds over a wide area, and the quantity of water still about detracted from the value of some of the possies. Add to that a full moon and a clear, calm morning, and it is understandable that limits were hard to get. Reports concerning pheasant and quail are quite good. Sunday morning was better for duck shooting than Saturday, some cloud obscuring the moon. Mr H. C. Mexted’s party, shooting at Matata, got the limit of grey duck on the opening morning, but did not do so well on Sunday. Messrs L. R. Spring, F. M. Abbott and Matchitt are reported to have taken limit bags both mornings, and to have got limit bags of pheasant as well, at Awakeri. Messrs D. O. Stewart and M. Stubbs fell just short of the limit at Thornton on Saturday morning. Ohiwa possies yielded fair bags, and there were two or three limits taken at Taneatua and Waimana.