DUCK SHOOTING SEASON TO OPEN

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17834, 30 April 1926, Page 5

DUCK SHOOTING SEASON TO OPEN

BIRDS WILL DIE FOR SOME WEEKS. Canterbury duck-shooting enthusiasts pray for a sou’ wester to-morrow. Should the wind turn to that quarter the shooting on the first day of the season at Lake Ellesmere will be very good. The effect of such weather conditions would be to bring the birds to the shores from the middle of the lake. It is expected that the shooting on the Waimakariri will be good also. So the hunters will furbish up their equipment, clean out their 12-bores, and sally forth to lie behind shields of rushes, in the cold, grey dawn, and watch for grey duck, spoon bills, Canadian geese, pukaki. black swans and paradise duck. There is a limit to the number of birds that may be shot. Pukaki and Paradise duck may only be taken from May 1 to May 7 inclusive, the limit being five birds per gun per day; Canadian geese. May 1 to May 31, two birds per gun per day; black swans, no limit: grey duck and spoonbills, twenty-five birds per day for the whole season. Grey duck and Paradise, with perhaps one or two pukaki. are the only birds likely to be found on the Wai-

Starting on May 1. the shooters can get busy. They have all day to shoot in. from one hour before sunrise till one hour after sunset. In the forbidden hours they will sleep, smoke, eat duck if they have been lucky, and tell stories of the sort that fishermen are famous for.

If the sale of - licenses is any .criterion, the season gives promise of being one of the best the Acclimatisation Socictv has had for several years past. The society's office staff has born kept very busy during the past three or four days issuing licenses.

The* season extends from May 1 to June 30.