39 
Ground data obtained during the July coverage are summarized as follows: 
a A * 7 A 
sree nh nt gp penne eeernt erengedtet ens ognsneeng-enetaneeene, 
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Ducks © ' Broods Total Water Areas” 
Sq. Mile Total per ‘Total per water per 
Sampled | Ducks Sq. mi. Broods Sq. Mi. areas Sq. mi. 
865 2, 861 3.3 294 0.3 2,419 2.7 
a i 
The difference in the number of broods seen per square mile between aerial 
and ground coverages is accounted for by the fact that the growth of vegetation by July 
made it impossible to see from the ground all the broods on an area when the area was 
not beaten, 
The aspen belt, while taking third place in number of ducks per square mile 
in May, produced the largest number of broods per square mile during the July cover- 
age. In this area of Saskatchewan the water levels are generally not subject to wide | 
fluctuation. The water areas are also generally more heavily vegetated, tending toward 
less ioss through evaporation and farming activities. The production of broods in 
Saskatchewan seemed to be in direct relation to the amount of available permanent water. 
Of the 294 broods recorded on the ground coverage 85 were Class 1, 119 were 
Class 11, and 90 were Class 111. The 294 broods totaled 2,026 ducklings, or a brood 
average of 6.9. 
Class 1 broods average 7.1 ducklings while Class 111 broods averaged 6, 4. 
This would indicate an average loss of 0.7 ducklings per brood. 
Broods of baldpate, blue-winged teal, and other late nesters were making a 
strong showing at the end of the July coverage. The outlook for mallards and pintails 
was not at all clear. The hens of these species disappeared from our transects after 
May 20, and we assumed that this indicated their first nesting attempt. Broods from 
this nesting attempt could be expected to appear in late June. However, preliminary 
runs of air transects, started on July 4, recorded only occasional Class 11 broods 
that could be identified with this first nesting attempt. By July 5 the aerial crew found 
mallards and pintails on their moulting lakes. The moult was well under way by the 8th, 
about the same date as in 1949, despite the general lateness of the 1950 season. From 
the banding data obtained on several of these moulting lakes it appears that many hens 
either made one unsuccessful nesting attempt or none at all. There was little evidence 
at the end of the July coverage of any important second nesting attempts among mallards 
and pintails. 
Summary 
During the 1950 waterfowl breeding season in most of southern Saskatchewan 
there was an abundant surface water supply. An unseasonably cool summer with ade- 
quate showers kept the breeding grounds in excellent shape in so far as moisture was 
concerned. Ducks. were late in arriving in Saskatchewan, owing probably to very 
unfavourable weather passing across their migration route south of the International 
‘Boundary. When conditions appeared "normal" the aerial and ground survey work 
started and it was found that the breeding population of southern Saskatchewan showed 
some improvement over 1949 conditions. 
Most of the waterfowl settled down in the extreme southern part of the 
Province, probably on the first suitable water area they came to. Because of the 
late start of the season, no broods were seen on the water up to the close of the May 
coverage. 
