418 Bent, Summer Birds of Southwestern Saskatchewan. [oct* 



anticipation that I revisited this island in 1906, but I was most 

 keenly disappointed to find it practically deserted. Instead of the 

 immense flocks of ducks which I had seen rise from the sloughs 

 like clouds of mosquitos, only a few scattered flocks were seen. 

 As we walked across the island expecting to see ducks flying up 

 all about us, hardly a duck arose, and in place of the 60 odd nests 

 that we expected to find only 3 nests were found. The mystery 

 was soon solved by finding a nestful of broken eggs and bunches 

 of yellowish hair clinging to the rose bushes. A coyote had been 

 living on the island and had cleaned out all of the nests and driven 

 the ducks away. The destruction of the bird population of the 

 island had been still further carried on by a family of minks and 

 the entrance to their den was strewn with feathers. Whether the 

 ducks will ever return to this island or not is an open question, but 

 probably they have moved to some safer spot. 



Such were the conditions as we found them in the localities we 

 visited and I have no reason to think that they were exceptional. 

 I have no doubt that similar conditions still prevail throughout 

 nearly all of the unsettled portions of the northwestern plains. 

 We passed in the train many similar localities, which looked equally 

 attractive, where birds were apparently equally abundant, and, 

 had we selected some other section and worked it up as thoroughly, 

 I have no doubt that the results would have been similar. But 

 there can be no doubt that these conditions are rapidly passing 

 away, and unless something can be accomplished towards setting 

 apart some extensive reservations where the birds can breed in 

 safety and be protected against the encroachments of civilization, 

 the glories of this region will soon become mere memories of the 

 past. 



In the following list of species I have endeavored to follow, as 

 far as possible, the nomenclature, as it now stands, in the present 

 A. O. U. Check-List without attempting to adopt even such changes 

 as are definitely decided upon. I realize that the list is far from 

 complete, owing to the limited time devoted to field work, but it 

 seems worth while to publish it as a basis for further work and as a 

 contribution to our knowledge of the birds of an interesting region. 

 I trust it will serve to throw some light on the distribution of certain 

 western species and subspecies and help to define their breeding 

 ranges more accurately. 



