16 BULLETIN 6*72, U. s. DEPARTMENT CXF ^GRICTJLTTTBE. 



nosium and calcium. In September great numbers of clucks gathered 

 in here at the eastern end of North Bay to feed and rest. At inter- 

 vals heavy north winds drove in the water over large areas of dry 

 flats, and after 10 or 12 horns many sick teal would be found. Fol- 

 lowing each storm sick birds would be abundant for two or three 

 days. The water in pools left as the wind died down was salt and 

 bitter to the taste. The sick birds lay along the mud bars and in 

 the shallows, while numbers of them came over into the overflow to 

 drink the fresh water coming in from the river. Many hid in growths 

 of cockle-burs and rushes on shore, while the open water was dotted 

 with dead bodies. On September 17, 1914, 150 birds were secured 

 here, all that the boat would hold. On September 9, 1916, a heavy 

 storm from the north covered these flats, and the following day 80 

 ducks were captured, while more were brought in on the days 

 following. 



Rains have the same effect, and as here they are usually accom- 

 panied by strong winds, the two are conjoined in this destruction of 

 bird life. With light rains small pools form everywhere on the 

 alkali barrens, while with heavier downpours these pools become 

 shallow lakes, the water of which is strong with salts held in solution. 

 Ducks flock in to feed upon floating seeds and insects and upon the 

 fleshy, succulent saltweeds (Salicornia, Atriplex, and others) and are 

 affected as described before. 



In the fall of 1916 the opening of the hunting season on October 1 

 was marked by a storm that lasted three days. Spoonbills and teal 

 in great numbers were flying back inland to feed, and a number of 

 sick individuals were found, though most of the sickness on the bays 

 had ceased several days before. Had the bays not been rilled by the 

 great supply of fresh fall water, many more would have been seri- 

 ously affected, as on returning to rest from their feeding expeditions 

 they would have had to drink only the stagnant summer water 

 already more or less charged with salts. 



On the Weber River flats the trouble ma}?- come from shifting 

 water that floods the flats on the lake front or from general stagna- 

 tion. The South Channel at present carries more or less running 

 water all summer save in exceptional years. No sick ducks have 

 been known to occur on it. The North Channel is well drained only 

 when the river is high in spring and fall. Here the water lies in 

 shallow isolated ponds or in long connected reaches. Late in sum- 

 mer, surface evaporation from these water areas is very rapid, and 

 the concentration of the salts held in solution is great. At the mouth 

 of the Jordan River the sickness occurs in areas where the water 

 becomes stagnant. Such areas become more pronounced as the 

 lower portion of the marsh near the lake front is approached. 



