flocks of mallards were seen until November 10, when 

 the last of the waterfowl disappeared from the area. 



For the Swift Current area, Saskatchewan, J. R. 

 Caldwell made the following comments in his report to 

 Ducks Unlimited of Canada: "Snow coupled with bliz- 

 zard conditions and very low temperatures caused a 

 mass migration of waterfowl during a three day period, 

 October 31 -November 2nd. The peak appeared to be 

 November 1st from the personal observations and re- 

 ports of the Kee-men and hunters. The storm reached 

 its worst that day in southwest Saskatchewan with high 

 winds and drifting snow making visibility almost nil at 

 times. Birds moved steadily all day southward. By 

 Wednesday, November 2nd, all but a few of the larger 

 lakes in the southwest were closed over. The south 

 Saskatchewan River was full of ice and only a few 

 stragglers (possibly cripples) were seen in the Kin- 

 dersley area where lakes and sloughs had 3-4 inches, of 

 ice on them by November 3rd." 



From Wynyard, Saskatchewan, R. T. Sterling re- 

 ported to Ducks Unlimited of Canada that the arrival of 

 low temperatures and snow during the period of October 

 31 -November 2 caused the mass departure of all the 

 waterfowl then remaining in east-central Saskatchewan. 

 On October 31, several thousand gadwalls migrated 

 through Little Quill Lake. By November 2, the only 

 open water in the area consisted of a few holes on Big 

 Quill Lake, where there were small numbers of mallards. 



According to Peter Ward, at the Delta Waterfowl 

 Research Station at the south end of Lake Manitoba in 



Manitoba, the largest migration of waterfowl he had 

 ever witnessed occurred on November 1, IQSJi. The 

 flight lasted from 10:00 A.M. until dark, mallards 

 migrating throughout the day and lesser scaups (Aythya 

 affinis) from 4:00 P.M. onward. Flocks averaging 70 to 

 90 birds each crossed the lake shore line at quarter- 

 mile intervals on the average of one flock per minute. 

 Ward estimated that 215,000 ducks passed over. 



Ward stated that the migration- was very unusual in 

 that the bulk of the mallards passed through the Delta 

 area from the north in 1 day. Most of the waterfowl 

 which had been in the Delta Marsh joined the passing 

 flight. Up to November 1, there had been only the usual 

 drift through that area. 



North Dakota. "Harry A. Jensen reported that a 

 mass migration of waterfowl occurred on November 1 

 and 2 across the breadth of North Dakota from the Red 

 River valley to the Montana line. The flight was only 

 half as large on November 2 as on the preceding day. In 

 1 hour on November 1, 50 flocks were counted in mi- 

 gration near Dawson. Observers along the Missouri 

 River informed Jensen that it was the heaviest mi- 

 gration they had ever seen; about 85 per cent of the 

 flight was made up of mallards, the remainder being 

 lesser scaups. Approximately 100,000 mallards stopped 

 along the Missouri River from the Garrison Reservoir to 

 the South Dakota line, 25,000 mallards on Kunkel and 

 Horse Head lakes near Dawson, and 35,000 mallards on 

 Lake Ashtabula, north of Valley City. Jensen stated 

 that all flocks flew on a uniform course to the southeast. 



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Fig. l.~A steady but unspectacular moveincni of w^iirfowl iiiio the Mississippi Flyway preceded the mass migration 

 that began on October 31, 1955. 



