17 
WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND STUDIES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1955 
R. H. Mackay 
Introduction 
Ground and aerial surveys of waterfowl breeding areas, comparable 
to those made in previous years, were carried out in British Columbia in 1955. 
R. H. Smith, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, C. Kebbe, Oregon State Fish 
and Game Department, and the author covered the Cariboo, Chilcotin, Prince 
George, and Rocky Mountain Trench regions using the U. S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service's Grumman Goose N-749. Ground surveys in the Cariboo, Kamloops, 
Okanagan, and Upper Columbia Valley regions were made by the author. Band- 
ing operations were carried out for the eighth successive year in the Cariboo 
region by: research students from the University of British Columbia and the 
author. Young trumpeter swans were color-banded for the second year on their 
breeding grounds in the vicinity of Grande Prairie, Alberta. 
Weather 
The winter of 1954-1955 in British Columbia was quite mild and pre- 
cipitation normal. The spring and early summer were cool and wet, and the 
delayed run-off caused some anxiety over floods during a hot spell in early June. 
However, the cooler weather which followed permitted a gradual run-off and 
flooding did not reach serious proportions. Lakes and sloughs were well filled 
throughout the summer, and conditions were favorable for breeding waterfowl. 
Methods 
Methods of ground survey used this year were similar to those used 
in previous years. However, the extent of the survey was somewhat limited, 
owing to the fact that the author carried out the ground survey alone and also 
participated in the aerial survey. 
Methods of aerial survey were again modified this year when a sample 
almost twice as large as any made previously was obtained. In past years it has 
been customary to fly one random transect on each heading, and then move farther 
on and fly another. The flying time between transects was not utilized for sample 
counts by this method. This year the transects were divided into 18-mile seg- 
ments. In some cases one heading was followed through several consecutive 
segments; in other cases, when approaching terrain unsuitable for aerial survey, 
the heading was changed at the start of a new segment of the transect. In this 
manner it was possible to utilize a larger part of the flying time for sample 
counts, and thus obtain a larger sample of the water population. 
