Wingshooting
What the birds are, how the days differ, and where the rules come from. The field weeks themselves are on the trip pages; this is the reference behind them.
Illustrative image
Three different weeks
Doves, walked-up perdiz and duck are not three versions of the same day. They start at different hours, ask for different shooting and suit different travellers.
Dove hunters
If you came for the doves, this is the week the whole country is organised around.
Upland bird hunters
The quiet half of Argentine shooting: walked up behind dogs, for the bird everyone here calls perdiz.
Waterfowl hunters
Duck days, planned around water that moves — and around a provincial rule we confirm rather than publish.
The quarry
What these birds and animals are and how they behave. Natural history, not an offer: what may be taken, where, and in what numbers is a provincial matter and we confirm it in writing.
Dove
Eared dove
Zenaida auriculata
Also called Torcaza · Córdoba dove
The size and colour of a North American mourning dove, with the dark patch below the ear that gives it the name, and a flight that is fast and straight. Córdoba holds them all year.
They work between roost and grain, which is why the shooting is organised around fields rather than around hides, and why a lodge that rotates its ground deliberately shoots better than one that returns to the nearest field twice.
Pigeon
Spot-winged pigeon
Patagioenas maculosa
Also called Manchada · Spot-wing
A true pigeon rather than a dove, noticeably larger than the torcaza, with pale spotting on the wing that shows in good light. It carries more weight and decelerates less, so the lead that works on torcaza is usually wrong on these.
They share the same grain country and often the same fields, which is why a Córdoba day frequently includes both without anybody planning it that way.
Parakeet
Monk parakeet
Myiopsitta monachus
Also called Quaker parrot · Cotorra · Lora
Green, loud and unmistakable, travelling in tight flocks and building the heavy communal stick nests you see in the trees along the field edges. It is the one bird most visiting shooters have never worked before.
It flies lower and changes direction harder than a dove, so it tends to be a frustrating hour for anybody who has spent the morning on torcaza. Whether it can be taken at all, where, and in what numbers is a provincial matter we confirm in writing before you travel.
Upland
Spotted nothura
Nothura maculosa
Also called Perdiz · Spotted tinamou
A tinamou, not a true partridge, despite the name everybody uses. It holds very tight in grass and stubble, flushes late and close, and flies low and briefly before dropping back into cover.
This is walked-up shooting over dogs across open ground, and it is a different day from a dove field in every respect: fewer shots, more walking, and a dog doing most of the work. Days, zones and numbers are set provincially and confirmed in writing before you travel.
Small game
European hare
Lepus europaeus
Also called Brown hare · Liebre
Brought to the River Plate in the late nineteenth century and established across the pampas and the central provinces ever since. Bigger than a North American jackrabbit, and very fast over the first forty metres.
It turns up incidentally on a walked-up day rather than being the reason for one. Whether it is open, where, and on which days is provincial and seasonal, and we confirm the current rule in writing rather than printing it here.
Authorised periods
The twelve-month rhythm
The good weeks move year to year with the harvest, the snowmelt and the rains. This is a rhythm and not a promise: we confirm your actual window in writing before you book flights.
- Peak
- Good
- Depends on the year
- We do not plan it then
| Activity | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dove and field shooting | Good | Good | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Perdiz, walked up | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year |
| Duck | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year |
| Trout on the fly | Peak | Peak | Peak | Good | Good | We do not plan it then | We do not plan it then | We do not plan it then | Good | Good | Peak | Peak |
| Golden dorado | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year |
| Wine and fire | Depends on the year | Peak | Peak | Peak | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Depends on the year | Good | Good | Good | Depends on the year |
| Estancia and riding days | Depends on the year | Good | Peak | Peak | Peak | Good | Good | Good | Peak | Peak | Peak | Good |
| Glaciers and the far south | Good | Good | Good | Depends on the year | We do not plan it then | We do not plan it then | We do not plan it then | We do not plan it then | We do not plan it then | Depends on the year | Good | Good |
- Dove and field shooting
- Córdoba holds birds all year, and the strongest conditions are in the southern autumn and winter. Exact dates depend on the harvest and on current provincial rules.
- Perdiz, walked up
- We publish no window here because the days, the zones and the numbers are set each year by provincial resolution. We confirm the rule in force in writing before you book flights.
- Duck
- The same answer as perdiz, for the same reason: the window is provincial, it moves, and we confirm it in writing rather than printing a date we cannot stand behind.
- Trout on the fly
- The main season runs through the southern spring, summer and autumn. Which weeks are best depends on the specific water and on the year, and we confirm the window with the operator before anything is held.
- Golden dorado
- Fishing and water levels both move with the rains, and the comfortable months are not the same every year. There is no honest grid for this one: we confirm the window with the operator before holding anything.
- Wine and fire
- Harvest in the southern autumn is the obvious moment, and the spring is quieter and just as good to look at. High mountain routes depend on snow and close without notice.
- Estancia and riding days
- Workable all year. The southern summer is hot and the city empties in January; spring and autumn are the easy months.
- Glaciers and the far south
- The far south has a short comfortable season and wind that decides a lot. Boat excursions and anything on the ice depend on conditions on the day.