152 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXVI 



rough's Falls on July 31, 1922. Viewing the spot 

 from a distance, I at once seemed to know (one 

 acquires this gift after years of field work") that 

 here lay some secret hidden away. Everything 

 pointed to it, the very lay of the land, the river 

 with its rocky bed and steep-sloping, well-wooded 

 sides, seemed to proclaim the fact. And yet it 

 was some time before nature gave up her secret, 

 for the very young fronds of the Bulblet Bladder 

 Fern (Cystopteris bulbifera) are not unlike the 

 sterile ones of C. Stelleri especially when seen" 

 growing at some height above one's head. I 

 started work on the right bank of the river, but 

 at first noticed nothing but C. bulbifera (the same 

 as at the Falls), until a crevice in the rock high 

 up attracted my attention, and I said, almost 

 involuntarily, "There's Stelleri." I had caught 

 sight of a fruiting frond, luckily, otherwise it was 

 almost impossible, at the distance they were from 

 me, to distinguish the sterile fronds from those of 

 C. bulbifera, which were growing adjacent to them. 



Had I known it, I might have sa\red myself a good 

 deal of trouble in securing this specimen, as I 

 afterwards found several good beds of it on the 

 opposite bank, and obtained specimens in all 

 stages, from the young primordial leaf, with one 

 or more large segments, to the mature, with many 

 and small segments. Fruiting fronds were not at 

 all plentiful, in fact they were scarce. In contrast 

 to the abundance of the species at the Falls, the 

 scarcity in the gorge at Coaticook was very 

 marked. Here only a very few plants were 

 found, and the small colony seemed in imminent 

 danger of being swept away at no late date by a 

 landslide, which was apparently developing 

 higher up. 



In conclusion I should say that it is my inten- 

 tion to present pressed examples of all the ferns 

 enumerated in my papers to the National Her- 

 barium of Canada, Victoria Memorial Museum, 

 Ottawa. This was partly accomplished in Feb- 

 ruary, 1921. 



WILLET CENSUS IN NOVA SCOTIA 



By R. W. TUPTS 



DURING the summer of the current year 

 (1922) a careful survey was made of the 

 breeding range of the Willett in Nova Scotia. 

 This was undertaken under the direction of the 

 Canadian National Parks Branch with a view to. 

 ascertaining as nearly as possible the number of 

 these birds which still nest in this province. 



Several specimens which were taken from here 

 were examined by Dr. C. W. Townsend of Boston 

 and were suVjsequently classified by him as the 

 Eastern Willett (Cato])trophorus semipalmatus 

 semipalmalus) which at one time bred along the 

 Atlantic seaboard from Nova Scotia to the Gulf 

 of Mexico. As a result of various forms of per- 

 secution, which the species was not able to with- 

 stand, this breeding range, so far as known, is 

 now restricted, north of Virginia, to the four 

 western counties of Nova Scotia. Since it is not 

 found inland, u.sually preferring extensive salt- 

 marsh areas and adjacent uplands, it will be seen 

 that the task of numbering the individuals is not 

 as hopeless as it might at first appear. During 

 the period when this estimate was being made 

 there was considerable rain and fog which made 

 it difficult to see the birds except at close range; 

 but on the other hand it was undertaken at a 

 time when the young were newly hatched and 

 both parent birds were therefore much in evidence. 

 They breed in small colonies or isolated pairs, the 



nest being concealed in the thick grass and low 

 bushes near the edge of the tide or well hidden in 

 the upland pastures adjacent to the marshes. An 

 allowance of three young per pair was made so 

 that the figures which follow represent approxi- 

 mately the actual number, adult and young, at 

 the end of the breeding season, and in submitting 

 them the writer has endeavored to err on the side 

 of conservatism. The area more definitely des- 

 cribed includes the favorable coastal districts from 

 St. Mary's Bay in Digby County south through 

 Yarmouth and thence south-east through Shel- 

 burne as far as Port Mouton in Queen's County. 



Head of St. Mary's Bay, Digby Co 100 



This colony is readily counted with a fair 

 degree of accuracy owing to the nature of 

 the country and the fact of its comparative _ 

 isolation from other Willet grounds. The 

 birds in this area appear to show a steady 

 increase during the past decade. 



Grosses Coques, Digby Co 50 



The numbers here this year are dis- 

 appointing in comparison with those of 

 recent years. 



Church Point, Digby Co 20 



There appears to be a new colony spring- 

 ing up here. i..;^ (..•* 



Church Point to Salmon River, Digby 

 Co 16 



