Report of the Department of Lands and Forests for fiscal year ending March 31, 1951 Page 120 



Ruffed Grouse: Field studies on the territorial behaviour and movements of ruffed 

 grouse were carried out at a reduced scale during the year. A few male birds were 

 banded on the study area, and some observations on birds banded previously were 

 made. 



Bird Banding: Sixty-eight birds of fourteen species were banded during 1950. 



Autopsies: A number of bears, deer and other mammals and birds were autopsied in 

 co-operation with the Ontario Research Foundation. 



Other Projects — Beckwith Island Grouse Project: The object of this study is to stock 

 a relatively isolated island in Georgian Bay with disease-free ruffed grouse; to observe 

 the population growth, incidence of parasitism and disease, and habitat selection, in 

 the hope of throwing some light on the causes of regular fluctuations observed in 

 grouse populations. During the year, fourteen ruffed grouse were successfully reared 

 at the Department's Pheasant Farm at Codrington, and transferred to Beckwith 

 Island in September. Subsequent surveys will reveal the success of this introduction. 



Woodcock Project: The object of this study is to determine migration routes through 

 Ontario, and thereby establish the sources of woodcock shot by hunters in Southern 

 Ontario in the fall. Preliminary work was begun when a party made a search of 

 Manitoulin Island for young birds to band. 



Deer Project: A field party continued the survey, begun in 1949, of deer problems in 

 Northern Ontario. Information was gathered on such aspects as distribution and 

 abundance, classification of habitat, analysis of browse conditions, distribution and 

 extent of hunting pressure, and history of the northern extension of the deer range. 

 Checks v/ere made of .several thousand hunters at road blocks, chiefly in Southern 

 Ontario, to provide information on hunting success, and on sex and age composition 

 of the harvest. The age class study, begun in 1949. was continued, to try to develop 

 a method of determining age of bucks by antler measurements. Sportsmen con- 

 tributed about 400 heads from bucks and does for study. 



Habitat Improvement: Studies of methods of improving wildlife habitat in agricultural 

 areas were continued. Six thousand Rosa tnulti flora seedlings were planted on a 

 variety of sites on privately owned land, in order to test winter hardiness, tolerance 

 of competition and soils. Some experimental plantations of other species have been 

 established and propagation of various experimental plants from cuttings and seed 

 was continued at the Southern Research Station. In the fall and early winter of 1950 

 a quantity of seed was collected from a number of native and ornamental shrubs for 

 testing in 1951. 



Laboratory Studies: Since the work of the Wildlife Food Habits Laboratory at the 

 Royal Ontario ^Museum of Zoology was taken over in April of 1950. considerable work 

 has been done in preparing the collection for transfer to new quarters at the 

 Southern Research Station. The entire collection of over 1.000 mammals stomachs, 

 as well as about 3,000 of the 13,000 bird stomachs have been re-organized and 

 catalogued. Food analysis has been completed on the stomachs of moose (4). beaver 

 (10), fish (34), marten (3), timber wolves (30), and goshawk (1). Thirty-eight wolf 

 scats were also analysed. 



