1911] The Ottawa Naturalist. 75 



up the river I saw a pair of Ospreys, and Miss Moodie, a well 

 known and talented local botanist, informed me that those 

 birds had nested for some years along the rivers. 



I found mammals, with few exceptions, still rarer than 

 birds. At Millarville, bush rabbits appeared to be fairly numer- 

 ous and there were also some west of Calgary. I saw, also, the 

 track of a coyote, and there are undoubtedly members of the 

 deer tribe in places, though I did not come across any. Of all 

 the mammals the common Grey Gopher, Citellus richardsoni, is 

 by far the most abundant. These destructive rodents are every- 

 where and are so difficult to deal with, owing to their dislike for 

 poison, that they are a continual source of injury to crops and 

 require persistent attention to keep them within reasonable 

 bounds. Here is an instance of the value of hawks, the absence 

 of which is doubtless largely responsible for the hordes of 

 gophers. 



Owing to the earliness of the season few flowering plants 

 were observed. The crocus anemone, /I. wolfgangania, was in 

 flower on April 10th, and a pretty little Potentilla, perhaps 

 ~pumila\ or concinna was out on the 16th, while the Dwarf Phlox, 

 Phlox Hoodii, first appeared on April 22, and a week later was 

 out in profusion, some places being quite white with the flowers. 

 Juniperus horizontalis and Shepherdia Canadensis were also 

 in flower at this time. On the 24th, Wild Strawberry was 

 observed and on the 29th Lesquerella argentea. On the 30th, 

 a Dwarf Arabis was found along the river bank and also a single 

 flower of Viola conspersa. The first of May was my last day 

 in the field and but one additional flower was seen Thermopsis 

 rhombifolia . Several other plants were noted not yet in flower, 

 many of them of much interest to me, but alas, I was obliged 

 to leave them with their blossoms still unfolded. 



For me, the greatest interest was centered in insects, 

 particularly tiger beetles, and my first walk in the country was 

 in quest of these creatures. I went out on April 16. in com- 

 pany with Mr. McDonald, with whom I was staying. We took 

 the north bank of the Bow River, as being exposed to the sun 

 and consequentlv giving more promise of success. We went 

 westward and came upon the river some two miles out from 

 the city. Here on the upper bank a C. audubonii was speedily 

 secured, followed by a graminea and then other specimens of 

 audubonii, while typical obliquata fairly swarmed on the sunny 

 banks. The day was not particularly favourable, being both 

 cool and windy, but in spite of that in approximately two hours' 

 hunt we took IS specimens of obliquata. 6 of limbalis, 9 of 

 audubonii and 4 of graminea, as well as a Calosoma zimmer- 

 manni and several specimens of two Eleodes sp. All the Cicin- 



