
The retarded spring of 1955 apparently had little effect upon the 
hatching period of the Canada goose, as the pattern was identical with that of 
1954. The peak of hatching occurred during the fourth week of April with 45 
percent of the broods appearing at that time. During the summer 205 miles of 
river were investigated and 392 goose nests were located. From the more 
concentrated study in Unit I it was found that although the breeding population was 
larger fewer nests resulted. However, nesting success was better (73 percent 
in 1954, 78 percent in 1955) and brood mortality was less. As a consequence, 
a 10 percent increase in the summer population of the rivers fixed the index at 
5,700 birds. 
Unlike the river geese, the scabland geese were affected by the 
severe spring weather. Although production on some of the large lakes and 
reservoirs of the Columbia Basin showed improvement in 1955, the total summer 
population for central and eastern Washington approximated that of 1954. 
