1970, and 1972. The summer of 1961 was extremely dry. 
Mean temperatures for the entire study period were 
similar to the long-term average and to the average for 
1961-72. Mean monthly temperatures were never more 
than a few degrees above or below normal during the 
annual 4-month survey periods, but these monthly means 
masked the extremes. 
Vegetation 
The Minnedosa area has fewer trees and shrubs than 
typical parkland habitat because farming is intensive (Bird 
1961). Small-grain farming (mostly wheat) and livestock 
production are the principal agricultural land uses. Quaking 
aspen is the principal tree; some bur oak occurs on the drier 
sites, Several species of willows occur around pond edges. 
Other typical shrubs are wolfberry, silverberry, beaked 
hazelnut, red osier dogwood, Wood's rose, chokecherry, 
pincherry, and Saskatoon berry. Herbaceous plants are 
numerous along roadsides and in non-agricultural areas. 
Vertebrates 
Among the 12 species of ducks that commonly nested on 
the area, blue-winged teal, mallards, and canvasbacks were 
the most abundant. American coots were the most 
abundant aquatic birds. Other common summer resident 
species included soras, horned grebes, pied-billed grebes, 
Franklin's gulls, and black terns. Avian predators included 
marsh hawks, red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks, and 
great horned owls. Common crows and black-billed 
magpies also occurred on the area. 
The most common mammals were meadow voles, 
thirteen-lined ground squirrels, Franklin’s ground squirrels, 
Richardson's ground squirrels, raccoons, and striped skunks. 
The most common large carnivores were red fox and 
coyotes. Red fox reportedly became more abundant after 
reduction of coyote populations by a 1080 poison bait 
program in the 1950's (A. Kruger, personal communica- 
tion). Coyote numbers remained low throughout the study 
period, Raccoons invaded the area in 1954 (Kiel et al. 1972) 
and populations increased in subsequent years (Lynch 
1971). Muskrats, badgers, snowshoe hares, white-tailed 
jackrabbits, and mink were also common. 
Phenology 
~ Among the indicators of spring phenology of the study 
area were first eggs laid by mallards and canvasbacks, first 
aspen leafing, first eggs by yellow-headed blackbirds and 
red-winged blackbirds, first dandelion blooming, first 
chokecherry blooming, and first coots hatching (Appendix 
B). 
Habitat Quality 
The Minnedosa parklands contained fewer trees than 
most parkland habitats and the area became more inten- 
sively cultivated each year during the study. Tree and brush 
removal accelerated in 1967. The region was primarily a 
small-grain farming area with less than one-fifth of the land 
in pasture and hayland (Evans et al. 1952; Kiel et al. 1972). 
Wheat was the predominent small-grain crop, followed by 
lesser amounts of barley, rapeseed, and oats. Nearly half 
the tillable land was fallowed each summer. The amount 
of spring burning and fall plowing each year varied. Be- 
cause nearly half the cultivated land was fallowed from the 
year before, much of the area was barren soil when snow 
melted in spring. 
Before 1965, wetland drainage was largely limited to 
small, temporary basins and probably had little effect on 
duck production. Drainage of the larger and more perma- 
nent wetlands accelerated in 1966 and 1967. Heavy rain 
during July of 1965 raised wetland levels over the entire 
study area and stimulated drainage efforts by landowners. 
Natural drainages were revealed when basin after basin 
filled up and spilled over into adjacent wetlands. In one 
section the drainage from the northwest corner through the 
southeast corner was so evident that the following spring 
two farmers used a backhoe to enlarge and deepen these 
natural drainage canals. By May 1966, water levels in about 
one-third of the ponds had been markedly lowered. By the 
early 1970’s many Type 4 and 5 wetlands were eliminated 
by networks of ditches throughout entire sections of land. 
Methods 
Annual field investigations followed techniques described 
by Smith (1971) and Stoudt (1971). Various phenological 
events (Appendix B) were recorded from May 1 through- 
out the breeding season. These observations were made to 
provide information on seasonal events for comparison with 
that in other studies. Nest initiation dates were determined 
by backdating incubation stages of eggs by the flotation 
method (Westerskov 1950). Data on area and length were 
recorded in English units and later converted to the metric 
system (usually to the nearest significant digit). 
Wetland Types 
The number and acreages of wetlands on the intensive 
study area each May were recorded by type, size class, 
depth class, land use, vegetative class, and dominant emer- 
gent vegetation (Table 1). Wetland types on the study area 
were classified according to Shaw and Fredine (1956): 
‘Type 1 consisted of water in shallow depressions in 
pastures, meadows, croplands, or road ditches. Vegetative 
growth that followed drying of the basin was either of the 
upland type or the wet-meadow type (Fig. 4). 
