— oe Sn ne Nee eC re nr 
6 Gro, 5 ProvinctAL Museum Report. N 9 



few hours daily for the collecting of botanical and entomological specimens and a few fishes, 
reptiles, and batrachians. The total number of specimens, including duplicates, are as follows: 
Mammals, 53; birds, 209; nests and eggs, 11; plants, 35 species ; insects, 1,382; fishes, 17 ; 
reptiles, 29 ; batrachians, 11.” 
Mr. J. A. Munro, who collected in the Okanagan District, carried on excellent field-work, 
and reports as follows :— 
““ The field-work extended from May Ist to August 3lst. With the exception of a week 
spent near Nahun, on the west side of Okanagan Lake, work was confined to a small area in 
the vicinity of Okanagan Landing. Okanagan Lake is at an altitude of 1,140 feet, and at 
this point is enclosed between low mountains. The timbered portions close to the lake are 
open and park-like, with yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa) predominating. Towards the summits 
the growth of timber is heavier, with Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) in the majority. 
Deciduous trees, principally quaking-aspen_ (Populus tremuloides), western birch (Betula 
occidentalis), black haw (Crataegus douglasii), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), etc., are 
confined to the creek-bottoms and to certain well-defined draws in the mountain-side. On 
both sides of the lake are large areas of open range land, with many alkaline lakes and 
sloughs, most of them surrounded by a heavy growth of deciduous trees. This section proved 
a very productive collecting-ground. The muddy shores of the lakes were frequented by 
numbers of migrating waders, and several species of ducks were found breeding, notably 
Barrow’s golden-eye (Clangula islandica) and bufile-head (Charitonetta albeola). During the 
past fifteen years the greater part of the arable land has been brought under cultivation, and 
with the protection and the increased food-supply afforded, there has been a marked increase 
in the number of summer birds. This is somewhat offset by the lessening numbers of breed- 
ing water-fow] following the drainage of the sloughs and marshes. The district described lies 
entirely in the Transition Zone and can be taken as typical of the Okanagan country. The 
months of May and June and early part of July were unusually wet for this region, there 
being weeks of almost constant rain, which interfered with field-work to some extent. Birds 
were shy and inactive and many transient species were late in arriving. This period of wet 
weather was followed by six weeks of dry heat that parched the vegetation on the hills and 
dried up many of the small lakes and sloughs. The week from June 7th to 14th was spent 
near Nahun, on the west side of Okanagan Lake, eighteen miles south of Okanagan Landing. 
Here a settler’s cabin was rented, on a wide flat 2,000 feet above the lake, at an approximate 
altitude of 8,200 feet. This district lies in the Canadian Zone, as characterized by the dense 
growth of lodge-pole pine (Pinus murrayana) and western larch (Larix occidentalis). 
Englemann’s spruce (Picea engelmanni) and balsam fir (Abies /asiocarpa) occur in isolated 
clumps. Such typical Canadian forms as olive-sided flycatcher (Vuttallornis borealis) and 
Columbian chickadee (Penthestes hudsonius columbianus) were noted. In some places the line 
between the Transition and Canadian Zones is very sharply defined, the yellow pine and 
Douglas fir ending abruptly at the summit, to be succeeded on the level top by lodge-pole pine 
and western larch. The creek-bottoms are heavily wooded with quaking-aspen (Populus 
tremuloides) and mountain-birch (Betula jfontinalis), both of which grow to great size. 
Following is a summary of the material collected during the four months of field-work: 471 
birds, representing 130 species; 21 sets of eggs; 126 mammals; 1,900 insects ; 17 batrachians ; 
9 reptiles; 40 fishes; and 430 plants. Particular attention was paid to the collecting of 
moulting birds and juvenals in their various plumages, much of this material being new to the 
Museum collection.” 
Mr. C. B. Garrett collected in East Kootenay District, in the vicinity of Cranbrook, and 
reports as follows :— 
*“ Field-work was started on May 5th in the district surrounding Cranbrook, which is 
situated about the centre of the East and West Kootenays, but at the more souther ly end. 
The district is hilly or mountainous and runs from 2,900 to 9,600 feet in altitude. Land is 
not at all highly cultivated, except in very small areas, and is chiefly covered with coniferous 
trees. Occasionally one runs across small patches of poplars w hich are found chiefly in the 
river and creek-bottoms, accompanied by willow and other smaller shrubs. Creeks are 
numerous from the mountain-slopes, and numbers of sloughs and small open lakes occur 
throughout the district. Owing to the fact that the land is uncultivated and therefore offers 
no special attraction to them, the birds occur in very small numbers to a species, although the 
number of species is fully up to the average of other districts. From a collector’s standpoint 
the weather was most disappointing, for out of the ninety-two days (collecting was carried on 
