BIRD-LIFE IN WESTERN CANADA 



IXTRODUCTORY 



Tlie wild-fowl wliicli, twenty years a,i;<>, wore so abund- 

 ant in onr northwestern l)onndary states, to-day character- 

 ize the slong'hs and lakes of the adjoining- Canadian Prov- 

 inces. In a short time, most of tliem will have retreated to 

 the still moi-e remote north, eventually to he I'oi'ced heyoiid 

 the parallel pi'ofitahly habitable by the ranchmen. Crowded 

 at the best, within comparatively small areas, by reason of 

 their aquatic habits, the nature of their haunts makes 

 them particularly susceptible to those changes in environ- 

 ment which man, the settler, directly or indirectly occasions. 



Shooting, the grazing of herds of sheep and cattle, which 

 destroy cover or tread on nests, and especially the draining 

 and tilling of land, are the chief factors in reducing the 

 numbers of these ground-nesting birds, which, in brief, are 

 quickly routed by civilization. Where, therefore, the map is 

 dotted with towns and lined with railways, they can con- 

 tinue to breed only on islets and, even then, reipiire special 

 protection. 



It was my valued privilege to have at least a glimpse of 

 this wild-fowl life, in June, 1901, at Shoal Lake, Manitoba, 

 and in June, 1907, near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. On 

 both occasions my time was largely occupied by the require- 

 ments of special collecting, but nevertheless, observations 

 were made which seem worth recording. They are, there- 

 fore, presented as a contribution to the ornithology of a re- 

 gion whose bird-life is so rapidly yielding to the pressure of 

 new conditions, that apparently it will soon be as devoid of 

 nesting wild-fowl as are our northern border states, unless 

 the Canadian Government, profiting by our experience, 

 takes immediate steps to protect its birds during the breed- 

 ing season. 



