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A wet spring and summer mean game bird populations are thriving ahead of the hunting season opening this weekend.

 is expecting well over 65,000 hunters to turn out for what is anticipated to be one of the best seasons in years.

Chief executive Corina Jordan said the weather has provided optimum conditions for brood rearing, with plenty of wet and ponded areas providing ample food.

“Fish & Game undertake population monitoring each year and we record the number of birds, we do aerial counts, we fly drones and we count on lakes and so we’ve got some of the highest numbers ever recorded in parts of the country.

“There are great numbers in the middle of the North Island, but I mean everywhere pretty much has good numbers, so wherever you go as a hunter, you’re going to have a great opportunity.”

Meanwhile, Canada geese populations were also at record levels in places, despite no longer having a controlled shooting season.

The birds caused significant damage to waterways and pasture, and they were classified as a pest.

“We haven’t been able to reduce those numbers even though they’ve been moved out of the game schedule so people can hunt them at any time, as long as they’re operating in accordance with firearm safety rules.”

Jordan, who will be joining other hunters and tangata whenua at Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere, said the forecast for opening weekend is looking good.

 “A little bit drizzly and a little bit overcast, so the ducks will be flying low.

“So much of opening weekend is about the tradition of coming together to spend time with loved ones and enjoying being in the outdoors. Ask hunters, and there’s most certainly a wellness aspect to it.

“In many small rural towns, a festival-type atmosphere descends in the week before opening, with shops and houses festooned in camo and duck-hunting livery.”

The collective harvest of wild, free-range game birds for friends and family, providing safe, sustainable food for families, cannot be overlooked when the country is in a cost-of-living crisis, she said.

- RNZ