
DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF THE WILSON'S SNIPE IN WESTERN CANADA 
Chandler S. Robbins 
Ue. S. Fish and Wildlife service 
In order to obtain significant information on current changes in 
abundance of the Wilson's Snipe, and apply these intelligently to the 
hunting regulations it is necessary: (1) to have adequate methods for 
measuring changes in abundance o the breeding ground and/or on the 
wintering grounds; (2) to know the geographical distribution of the 
species well enough so that census areas can be so chosen as to sample 
the whole population (giving proper weight to areas of highest concen- 
tration); and (3) to learn, through recoveries of banded birds and 
possible regional variation in plumage and measurements, the migration 
routes and wintering areas of the Wilson's Snipe that are associated 
with the various sections of the breeding range. 
The summers of 1952 and 1953 were devoted to obtaining information 
on the measurement of breeding populations. During the sumer of 195) 
a survey was made of the breeding distribution and abundance of the 
snipe in western Canada. The itinerary was planned on the basis of our 
knowledge of the breeding distribution of this species. Nesting records 
and mid-summer observations from the files of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service were mapped according to the bird's abundance (when knowm). Mr. 
We Earl Godfrey kindly added to the map other additional records avail- 
able in the files of the National Museum of Canada. In planning the 
itinerary from the resulting map, an effort was made: (1) to visit 
several of the areas where the species had been reported as "common! 
(2) to fill in some of the larger gaps on the map of breeding distri- 
butions; and (3) to make sample counts of winnowing birds in all of the 
more important ecological areas that were accessible by road. It was 
felt that by sampling the population in this way, the knowledge so 
gained could be applied in a general way to those vast tracts which 
could not be directly sampled with the time and facilities at hand. [I 
am indebted to the Department of Soils of the University of Saskatchewan 
and to the Department of Extension of the University of Alberta for 
their kindness in making available soil maps of these provinces. Topo- 
graphic maps furnished by the Canadian Wildlife Service proved indispen- 
sible in locating suitable habitat for snipe and in planning details of 
the itinerary; the splendid cooperation of this agency is gratefully 
acknowledged. ~ 
Weather Conditions 
The month of April was exceptionally cold throughout all of western 
Canada, averaging from 10 to 18 degrees below normal in most of the areas 
covered on the trip. Calgary and Edmonton, Alta., broke and tied, 
respectively, the lowest mean April temperature on record for the present 
century. Cold weather continued to a lesser extent in May, most areas 
being 2 to 6 degrees below the May average. More than a dozen Alberta 
Dk 

