
31 
broods about to hatch in areas where water was then present. No amounts of rain 
falling as late as they did this year could offset the fact that there had been a serious 
curtailment of the nesting activities of pintails and mallards due to the loss of first 
nests in southern and central portions of the Province. Evidence of this loss will be 
presented elsewhere in this report. 
To emphasize further the extent and seriousness of the drought this year, 
179 square miles, or 31 percent of our ground transects were devoid of water or ducks 
by July 1. In May all of these transects had both water and breeding ducks. Of all 
- aerial transects, 43 square miles were devoid of ducks by July, 41 square miles more 
contained only 3 broods and an additional 49 square miles had only 6 broods at the 
second running. , 
Waterfowl Breeding Population Trends 
With the exception of the late arrival of the blue-winged teal, waterfowl 
migrations in southern and central Alberta were generally about normal in 1950, 
chronologically speaking. As a result of the first running of our ground transects 
in May, we found an average population of 11.9 ducks per square mile on our 
comparable transects. In 1949, we found 13.9 ducks per square mile on the same 
areas, or an indicated loss of 14.4 percent. Aerial coverage of the Province indi- 
cated an over-all population of 11.3 ducks per square mile. No comparable data of 
this type is available for 1949. 
When the first coverage of Alberta was made this year it was obvious that 
the blue-winged teal had not yet arrived, and that this fact would have some bearing 
on the over-all picture of breeding populations. Therefore, when the second running 
was made in June, particular attention was paid to the newly arrived teal. The 
arrival of this species resulted in the cutting of the original loss of 14.4 percent to 
7 percent, 
As in 1948 and 1949, population trends on our transects were ascertained 
by using two different habitat classifications, soil and vegetative types. See Tables 
2 and 3 below. 
Table 2. -- Waterfowl Breeding Populations by Soil Types - Ground and Air * 

Soil Type __ Ground Air 
1947 1948 1949 1950 1948 1950 
Brown 21.3 34.7 12.5 17.7 31.0 15.4 
Dark Brown 36.6 28.6 22.5 8.2 39,5 11.9 
Shallow Black 16. 6 25.8 24.8 17.7 28.1 10.2 
‘Black 20.0 11.9 25.2 11.8 15.1 8.2 
Mixed - - - - - 10,2 
Gray Wooded - - : - - 9.5 
a A 
Table 3, -- Waterfowl Breeding Populations by Vegetative Types - Ground and Air * 
cen a CE TC OE eS ee 
} Ground Air 
vegetative tyEss 1948 1949 1950 1948 1950 
Prairie 26.2 11.7 14,2 32.0 13.9 
Transition 39.9 28.0 12.6 - 24.5 E: 
Parklands - =417.7 28.2 13.7 14,3 8.8 
* Ducks per square mile. 
