Darwin Goose Hunterz

The birds have landed in Darwin — and in a big mob!

Went out for another scout today and found a good mob of magpie geese starting to build up around Darwin.

I just couldn’t get close to them today, so the video footage isn’t that great, but you’ll get the idea.

Make sure you turn the volume up — you can certainly hear them out there.

Great to see the birds starting to arrive in good numbers. Things are definitely starting to shape up for the season.

Darwin Goose Hunterz — putting the NT back into hunting.

The tracks are dry, so now is a great opportunity to get out and do some scouting.

Places like Shoal Bay might not produce many geese this early in the season, but they can definitely bring the geese in later in the season when things start getting wet.

Having said that, Shoal Bay can be really treacherous once the Wet kicks in. Getting out there now, learning the tracks and laying down your GPS tracks and waypoints can make a huge difference later in the season.

Right now the tracks are open and accessible, so there’s no excuse not to get out, have a look around and learn the country.

The only excuse is that you’re too lazy!

Do your homework now and it might pay off when the geese arrive.

Down having a look at one of the first places around the Darwin swamps where the magpie geese traditionally start turning up in good numbers.

There might already be birds scattered around some of the outlying areas, but this is usually one of the first spots closer to Darwin where we start seeing the bigger numbers arrive.

Good to see they’ve stayed true to form again this year. Plenty of water still around and plenty of birds starting to move in.

The season is starting to take shape!

Who knows where this spot is?

Every year is different!

I went down to have a look around Beatrice Lagoon and there’s definitely a lot more water opened up down this way compared to previous years.

The main lagoon has plenty of open water, but what’s really noticeable this year is that past the buffalo farm it has opened right up into some good areas of water.

There’s also plenty of water on the Adelaide River side of the Darwin Goose Hunterz Way Causeway, which is looking very different compared to the last few seasons.

With all this extra water around, it’ll be interesting to see where the geese settle and how Beatrice Lagoon hunts this season. Things are definitely looking promising.

DARWIN GOOSE HUNTERZ – SEASON UPDATE

With the private-land waterfowl season officially kicking off today, I thought I’d head out and have a look around to see what’s happening at a couple of our main hunting areas — Harrison Dam and Beatrice Lagoon.

As you can see, the birds are starting to slowly trickle in. There are plenty of whistlers around at the moment, and the magpie geese are starting to show up as well.

Still a little while to go before the hunting reserves open, but things are definitely starting to look promising.

The main dam at Harrison hasn’t got a great deal of water in it, but plenty of the surrounding areas are holding water, which is good to see.

It’s starting to feel like goose season again, and we’re getting excited!

Private land is open from today, 15 August, with landholder permission. Hunting reserves open 5 September.

Not long now — bring on the 2026–27 season!

Darwin Goose Hunterz — Putting the NT back into hunting.

Outdoors

It’s officially here — the start of the 2026–27 Magpie Goose hunting season for private landowners in the NT.

As of today, those lucky enough to have access to private land land, can get out there and start chasing Magpie Geese and other permitted waterfowl.

Unfortunately, for those who don’t have private property or access to enough suitable land to shoot on, you’ll have to wait a little longer for the public hunting areas to open.

But for those with their own block, mates with private land

I’ve posted a bit of last season’s action to get everyone in the mood for the season ahead.

Make sure your licences and permits are sorted, know the rules and bag limits, hunt safely and respect the land.

Good luck for the 2026–27 season!

Darwin Goose Hunterz — putting the NT back into huntin

Would you look at that