mately one covey for every 253 acres to less than one covey per 600 acres. There 

 is an established population in the Arnprior-Renfrew area in McNab and Admaston 

 townships, but there was less than one covey per 600 acres. There are also isolated 

 coveys occurring near Kingston, Hay Bay and in Prince Edward County. 



There are also huntable populations in the Niagara Peninsula and Haldimand 

 Counties which supply reasonable shooting in some years. 



During the past two years Hungarian partridges have been raised from 

 clutches of eggs found in the Kemptville District. These birds have mated success- 

 fully and some forty of their progeny are now established at our Codrington 

 Hatchery. If these birds continue to reproduce successfully, it is anticipated that 

 larger plantings of this hardy strain will be available in the next few years. 



Bobwhite Quail 



The build-up of quail in southwestern Ontario received a set back during the 

 severe winter of 1962-63. These birds have shown some recovery, however, and 

 a two-day season was held in Raleigh and Plympton Townships in Kent and 

 Lambton Counties last year. We have continued our efforts to trap wild quail and 

 to obtain clutches of quail eggs for incubation at Normandale Hatchery. During 

 the late spring several adults were captured but they are apparently too wild to 

 produce any eggs. We were, however, successful in obtaining 13 eggs which were 

 successfully hatched, and these birds may supply a nucleus for future breeding 

 stock. It is planned to propagate this wild strain of birds so that the hardy 

 characteristics inherent in the Ontario birds may be retained to develop birds which 

 can be released on public shooting grounds. The greatest difficulty this year has 

 been to prevent the release of undesirable semi-domestic strains of bobwhite quail 

 into natural habitat. 



RABBITS 



The cottontail rabbit was abundant in suitable habitat throughout southwestern 

 Ontario in 1963. The European hare continues to be a popular game species 

 particularly in agricultural areas of the Aylmer District and the large open areas 

 in the Bruce and Grey Counties of Hespeler. 



SQUIRREL 



The Black Squirrel is abundant throughout its range, but it is not highly 

 sought after by small game hunters. This species is apparently increasing its 

 northern range as evidenced by the numerous reports from the Parry Sound and 

 Pembroke Districts. 



MOURNING DOVES 



Our field conservation officers in southern Ontario again assisted the 

 Canadian Wildlife Service in their annual inventory of this species as in 1961 

 and 1962. 



There was no apparent change in the breeding population of this abundant 

 species in Ontario, despite the heavy hunting pressure during migration in the 

 United States. Ontario has no season on the species. 



WATERFOWL 



Waterfowl hunting continues to be a popular sport in Ontario. Surveys 

 conducted by Federal agencies indicate that there may be as many as 95,000 



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