48 
Fortunately the rains that started in May continued all summer. General 
Soaking rains were frequent, and occasional downpours from massive air-mass 
thundersqualls and frontal squall-lines dumped 4 to 7 inches on some localities 
within a 24-hour period. Our July aerial surveys turned in a very high count of 
22,37 July ponds per square mile. These rains were adequate to maintain water 
levels in the potholes and rearing ponds all summer. 
In some localities that were flooded by torrential rains, we feared that nests 
of divers and other near-water nesters might be flooded out. However such loss, 
if it occurred, seems not to have been of serious consequence to the Provincial 
Duck Crop. Mallard and pintail nests are rarely affected by flooding in Saskatchewan, 
because these are usually located in well-drained undulating or pently-rolling | 
Stubblefields and pastures, and along fence-rows and road-grades. 
NOTE: Temporary rain puddles caused some inflation in our July aerial pond 
count. Since the top number of true waterfowl rearing ponds in July is less than 
20 per square mile, we have sealed down the forecast vale of any higher figure on 
our Forecast Chart. In the comparative data, the July 1951 pond figure is now 
reported as 11.4 ponds per square mile. Last year we adjusted this figure (obtained 
from 1/8-mile transects) so as to be more nearly comparable with May figures 
from 1/4-mile transects, It was decided this year to let July figures rest on their 
own merits, with no attempt being made to determine seasonal water loss from May. 
Brood -Size (''Yield") 
Saskatchewan broods had fewer ducklings this year than usual. The nearly- 
mature (Class III) broods recorded on our regular July air-transects averages only 
5.6 ducklings each. Independent cross-country brood counts by Conover, Thompson, 
and Lynch verified this, showing 5.8 ducklings per Class III brood. 
These smaller broods probably reflect the preponderance of second-nestings 
in this season's hatch, although there is evidence that some first-clutches partially 
survived the plow and hatched 3 to 5 ducklings. Last year's high figure of over 7 
ducklings per Class III brood stemmed from the great success of large first-clutches 
of pintail and mallard. We recorded a few ''Flying Class III'' mallard and pintail 
broods this year with 7 to 9 ducklings, but the great clouds of large flying broods 
that were so conspicuous in Saskatchewan in July, 1952 were absent this year. 
Brood Maturity 
Last year's successful first-nesting pave us 3.8 Class II and III broods per 
Square mile, indicating a large and early-maturing Duck Crop. This year 
Saskatchewan shows only 1.1 nearly-mature brood per square mile. The latter 
figure was 69 percent of all broods seen in the July 1953 survey, but many later 
broods have since materialized. Subsequent observations showed that the mallard, 
which had some broods on the wing by mid-July, was still turning out downy Class I's 
the first week in August. This is additional evidence of the mallard's strong late 
nesting effort. Most broods of the later nesting species were half-grown (Class II) 
by the time we completed our air work in Saskatchewan on August 9. 
