December, 1922. 



The Canadian FiblivNatubalist 



175 



A BIOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE OF PORTIONS OF NIPISSING AND 

 TIMISKAMING DISTRICTS, NORTHERN ONTARIO 



By J. Dewey Soper 



SINCE my study of the bird and mammal life in 

 the Ridout region, District of Sudbury, some 

 years ago, it seemed fitting to make a trip 

 into the wilds of Temagami as a sort of a continua- 

 tion of that study. The two regions, not far separ- 

 ated geographically, are essentially the same in 

 character, being extremely rugged and principally 

 in the Canadian Zone. With one or two exceptions, 

 I could hardly hope to swell the list of species 

 obtained in the Ridout country, but there was a 

 possibility of discovering something new in respect 

 to the distribution of some of the forms. As an 

 added inducement, too, I understood that no 

 faunal naturalist had previously visited this 

 region. Also, Zapus had hibernated by the time 

 I reached the Ridout country in 1918, and in 

 planning the Temagami trip I was particularly 

 anxious to visit the country at such a time, if 

 possible, as to insure filling the Zapus gap in my 

 list. In this I was succcessful, as the following list 

 discloses, obtaining not only the common jumping 

 mouse, but the much rarer one, Zapus insignis — 

 the will-o'-the wisp of many a collector. 



The region here referred to lies about one hun- 

 dred miles north of North Bay, embracing the 

 Temagami Forest Reserve, the valley of the 

 Montreal River, and the Ontario side of Lake 

 Timiskaming. The Temagami country is es- 

 pecially typical of the Canadian zone, being 

 forested throughout with such characteristic 

 conifers as white, red and banksian pine; white 

 and black spruce; hemlock and balsam fir; 

 Aspen, larch, balsam poplar, yellow and canoe 

 birch completed the forest. On the lower Mont- 

 real River from Latchford to Lake Timiskaming 

 we encountered an intrusion of the Transition 

 Zone where additional species were met with, 

 such as black ash, red oak, mountain and sugar 

 maple, white elm and white cedar. 



The geological formation is pre-Cambrian, 

 consisting of Lower Huronian and silver-bearing 

 Keewatin, with isolated igneous masses of diabase 

 and anorthasite. The country for the most part 

 is extremely rocky, with a fairly good forest 

 covering and profusely sprinkled with deep, clear 

 lakes of all sizes. 



Accompanied by Mr. Herbert Allan, of Toronto, 

 I commenced the canoe journey at Temagami 

 Station on the morning of August 29, 1920. The 

 route lay by way of the main Temagami Lake, 

 Wakimika, Ababika, Diamond, and Lady Evelyn 



Lakes, thence to Sucker Gut Lake, back to Lady 

 Evelyn and down the Evelyn and Montreal 

 rivers to Lake Timiskaming where our trip came 

 to a close at Haileybury about the middle of 

 September. 



One of the most interesting features of the trip 

 was the consciousness of passing from one zone to 

 another while descending the Montreal. The 

 demarkation was by no means abrupt or even 

 pronounced, but of sufl^cient distinction to attract 

 attention. Later, the antithesis became more 

 marked. Early in our descent of the river I was 

 conscious of an increase in birds, not only in 

 relative numbers but in species as well. The 

 Transition element becomes particularly con- 

 spicuous below Latchford. On the morning of our 

 leaving the latter place we heard the first Red-eyed 

 Vireo of the trip, and his talkative outbursts met 

 our ears frequently from then on. Song Sparrows 

 and Robins, both of which were very scarce in the 

 Reserve, now became more conspiciuously com- 

 mon. Large flocks of the latter were met with in 

 the vicinity of Poigan Rapids and below, where 

 such hardwoods as red, sugar and mountain 

 maple, black ash, white elm and red oak were 

 first seen or became decidedly more numerous. 

 Two of these species at least find their northern 

 limit in this vicinity — the sugar maple and the 

 red oak. Some of these, notably the black ash, 

 are not confined to this particular portion of the 

 valley, but the hardwoods as a whole and especially 

 the white elm are decidedly more common at this 

 point. Canoeing down stream one detects the 

 change almost at once. And with them, becom- 

 ing comparatively common, are certain species of 

 birds which in the areas of pure stands of conifers 

 were nearly, if not entirely absent. Ruffed 

 Grouse, Flicker, Crow and Grackle are examples 

 which I readily call to mind, while such species 

 as Sparrow Hawk, Red-eyed Vireo, Whip-poor- 

 will and Red-winged Blackbird were now seen for 

 the first time. The appearance of many of these 

 was, perhaps, merely fortituous as regards a 

 choice of locality, but to any one more or less 

 versed in ornithology the general enrichment of 

 bird-life was readily apparent. 



In the Temagami Reserve none but the "little" 

 or Lake Superior chipmunk was observed, and 

 that only once or twice, while on the Montreal it 

 became quite common. The larger and more 

 familiar chipmunk (Tamias) put in its first 



