
35 
Weather conditions were generally ideal for nesting and brooding ducks 
in Alberta during the 1955 season. Plentiful water in May and a dry, warm 
summer made for ideal conditions in all but extreme southern areas (Strata C} 
where a heavy, wet snow in mid-May caused a depletion of the nests of its restricted 
waterfowl population. As this storm was followed by dry weather and rapid 
deterioration of the surface water, this portion of Alberta provided little to the 
fall flight from the Province. Nonetheless, its lower waterfowl populations and 
minor importance to the over-all Provincial production, even in good years, did 
not seriously affect the total production for the Province. 
Due to the constant flow of warm, dry air over the western prairies, 
almost no hail damage occurred within the Province this summer. Hail storms 
were very infrequent and those that did materialize were generally of a very local 
nature and not particularly severe. 
Breeding Populations 
As in 1954, at least two beat-outs to ascertain breeding pair populations 
were made on each of the four study areas. These were run in mid-May and early 
June. On all areas except III, the peak breeding population was recorded in the 
May beat-out, In the case of Area III, an influx of mallards and blue-winged teal 
in late May resulted in an appreciable increase in total population, enough, in 
fact, to reduce the over-all loss to five percent when compared to the 1954 popu- 
lation. Mid-May breeding pair losses in 1955 were 10 percent in all areas except 
IV where the population was the same as in the previous year. 
Tables lI and III below record population changes in May and June 
of 1955, a comparison of these populations in May of 1954 and 1955, and the 
species composition of all study areas in 1955, 
Table Il. - Breeding Populations - All Study Areas. 
Area I (4.875 Square Miles} 
Total Lone Lone Ind. Ducks/ Pairs Ind, Pop. 
Date Ducks Pairs o's 9's Pop. Sq: Mi. Sq.Mi. Ducks Per Sq. Mi. 
May 1955 229 50 127 2 358 46.9 36.7 73.4 
June 1955 166 34 98 0 264 34.0 27.0 54.1 
May 1954 300 101 98 0 398 61.5 40.8 81.6 

