Game Bird Habitat Page One - 1994 - 1999.

         The New Zealand Game Bird Habitat Trust, established under the 1953 Wildlife Act, exists primarily to improve New Zealand game bird habitat, and secondarily to improve the habitat for other wildlife. The key purpose of the Game Bird Habitat Trust Board is to distribute funding for the development and enhancement of wetland habitat for the benefit of game birds and other wetland inhabitants.

         The New Zealand Fish and Game Council commenced issuing $10 license stamps in 1994.  The stamp is affixed to the game bird hunter's license thus validating the license for the current year. $2 of the license fee goes towards establishment and protection of Game Bird Habitats. The stamps and related products such as miniature sheets and First Day Covers are also marketed by NZ Post with funding received going back to the Habitat Trust.

         This page will cover the stamps and all collector items for the year 1994 through 1999. In many cases, items may be missing but will be added when we find them. Consider this to be an on-going project that will be added to and improved as time goes on.


          Game Bird Habitat Page One - 1994 - 1999.

          Game Bird Habitat Page Two - 2000 - 2009.

          Game Bird Habitat Page Three - 2010 - 2019.

          Game Bird Habitat Page Four - 2020 - 2029.

1994 - Game Bird.

1994 - Paradise Shelduck.

The paradise shelduck 'Tadorna variegata', also known as putangitangi, is endemic to New Zealand.  It is New Zealand's most abundant native duck, widely distributed throughout the country, on open grassland, inland lakes, high altitude streams, and coastal areas. Farmland is a favourite habitat for feeding on grass, clover and weeds, and their seeds, and insects and earthworms.  Aquatic vegetation is also part of their diet.

This stamp was issued in this miniature sheet for the Hong Kong '94 Stamp Exhibition.

1995 - Game Bird.

1995 - New Zealand Shoveler.   

       The New Zealand shoveler 'Anas rhynchotis variegata', also known as kuruwhengi, is a subspecies found only in New Zealand. It is commonly found in tidal harbours, lowland swamps and lake edges throughout the country, except Stewart Island where it is uncommon. It uses its wide flat bill for sieving food from the water and mud. Their food is mainly freshwater invertebrates and the seeds of aquatic plants, however, worms and insects are sometimes eaten in flooded pasture.

Booklet for the 1995 Game Bird stamp. Cover at the top and five stamps inside below.

1996 - Game Bird.

1996 - New Zealand Grey Duck.

The critically threatened grey duck Anas superciliosa superciliosa, also known as parera, is an endemic dabbling duck, the New Zealand subspecies of Pacific black duck.  Grey duck was commonly found in shallow wetlands and freshwater streams, and occasionally in estuaries throughout New Zealand until the 1950s. They have suffered severely from loss of habitat and competition with the introduced Mallard duck Anas platyrhynchos. Today the purest population of Grey Duck is found on the Chatham Islands because most mainland populations are cross-breeding with the introduced Mallard Duck.

1997 - Game Bird.

1997 - Black Swan.

The original New Zealand Black Swan had been hunted to extinction about the time of European settlement. In 1860 it was re-introduced from Australia in the 1860s and quickly spread throughout New Zealand. It is believed populations of Black Swans flew from Australia naturally at about the same time.

The greatest numbers of swans occur on large lowland or coastal lakes or lagoons. Some harbours and estuaries are favoured as well.  Their diet is mainly leaves of submerged aquatic plants such as Ruppia, Egeria and Zostera. When this food is not available, they will also graze on pasture grass and clovers, much to the annoyance of farmers, as they are competing directly with grazing livestock.

1998 - Game Bird.

1998 - Canada Goose.

 The distinctive and well-known Canada goose is a North American native that has been extensively introduced to UK, Scandinavia, and North Sea nations from Denmark to France, Russia and Ukraine, as well as New Zealand.

It is commonly a large light-brown goose with black neck and head and a conspicuous white chinstrap. The breast and abdomen are barred white and light brown, and the abdomen and under tail are white, with the back and the upper tail is brown. Sexes are alike except the females are noticeably smaller than the males.

Entirely herbivorous, preferring the sugar-laden bases of short grasses, they are also very partial to clovers and other legumes and, occasionally, newly-germinated cereals. On the water, they will nibble at seed heads of marginal sedges and feed on submerged plants such as Elodea and Egeria.

1999 - Game Bird.

1999 - Californian Quail.

The native New Zealand quail was uncommon during early European settlement in New Zealand and considered extinct by about 1870. Californian quail were introduced to Nelson in 1865. Other provinces followed and populations expanded so rapidly that, in 1890, thousands of Californian quail were canned or frozen and exported from Nelson to London.

Later, the release of stoats and weasels for rabbit control took its inevitable toll and in some locations where quail were formerly numerous, they have disappeared completely. However, quail are still the most common of the introduced upland game birds and are found in both main islands.

Information & images for this post came from.

New Zealand Post (Stamps)