THE INFLUENCE OF BAD WEATHER 



of the sportsmen. Mr. Knox carefully estimated the loss and figures between 

 five and six thousand ducks perished." 



Warrant Officer Clayton Baldwin, of No. 8 Repair Depot, Winnipeg, 

 writes: "In the fall of 1943, while I was stationed at No. 12 S.F.T.S. at Bran- 

 don, a similar duck disaster occurred. A heavy ground fog had settled over 

 the area and aircraft were grounded. In the morning, as airmen proceeded 

 to work, ducks, mostly Lesser Scaups, with I believe a sprinkling of other 

 diving ducks, were found dead, dazed or haphazardly wandering around 

 the Station roads. The Station is at all times brightly lit up and in this in- 

 stance the ducks, in all probability flying very low, piled into hangers 

 (which extended from east to west), and those striking head on killed 

 themselves while the others were more fortunate." ° 



Such accidents happen in the spring as well, and a passage of diving 

 ducks meeting fog after dark on April 28, 1955, dashed into buildings, trees, 

 and wires at McCreary, Manitoba. Some of these were shown to me by Game 

 Guardian A. M. Lundy: Redhead, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, and Greater 

 Scaup, most of them terribly smashed, but two of the scaup with only their 

 wings broken. 



A different kind of tragedy overtook migrating Whistling Swans, Canada 

 Geese, and ducks in Clarke and Dunn counties, Wisconsin, in early April 

 1954. These travelers encountered torrential rains and hail: many were 

 killed, some apparently by hail while they were still awing; and waterfowl 

 were found dead far and wide over the countryside after the storm. At 

 least thirty-five dead Whistling Swans were retrieved for examination by 

 the Wisconsin Conservation Department. "The inspection shows definitely 

 that they met violent deaths," said Cy Kabat, Chief of Wildlife Research 

 for the Conservation Department. "They had broken necks, burst livers and 

 hearts, lung hemorrhages and many bruises all over their bodies and heads 

 where they evidently had been pelted by big hailstones. We'd guess from 

 what we know that the hail caught them up high — very high." f 



The meteorological factors responsible for the icing of airplane wings, a 

 severe hazard to human flight, may also act upon birds. Dr. William G. 

 Sheldon (letter) says that near "Quincy, Massachusetts, I was attracted at 

 dusk by the chatter of hundreds of Starlings. These birds were scattered 

 about the ground close to the south shore of Boston Harbor. Approaching 

 them, I found they had lost the power of flight and were easily caught by 



° "Chickadee Notes," Winnipeg Free Press, January 2, 1945. 



t News story by Gordon MacQuarrie, Milwaukee Journal, April 23, 1954. 



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