21 
WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND STUDIES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 
1954 
D. G. Colls and R. H. Mackay 
Weather and Water Conditions 
The winter of 1953-54 was characterized, in British Columbia, by fairly mild 
temperatures and excessive snowfall, particularly in the higher regions. Relatively 
low temperatures in spring and early summer delayed break-up for about three weeks. 
The cool wet weather of the spring continued into mid-summer, and water levels 
in lakes and sloughs became noticeably higher than in 1953. However, water 
conditions were still considered most favorable for waterfowl production. 
Breeding Population Trends 
The spring aerial survey of the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas, as in previous years, 
was made by running random transects. The size of the sample was increased by 
about 20 square miles in these areas this year. Comparable total waterfowl population 
figures were obtained in the spring aerial survey of the Upper Columbia Valley. The 
results of these aerial surveys, given in the following tables, indicated that the 1954 
breeding population in the Cariboo and Chilcotin areas, was down about 18 percent 
from the 1953 population. The data from the Upper Columbia Valley indicated a 25 
percent decline in the Canada goose population. They also suggested that the duck 
population had increased by about 33 percent from the 1953 figure; however, the aerial 
team felt this increase represented a concentration of birds caused by late break-up 
on higher and more northerly lakes and streams. 
Table I. - Spring Aerial Survey - Cariboo and Chilcotin Areas. 
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 
Square miles samples 52.0 58.4 52.5 78.3 99.0 
Ducks per square mile 13.2 16.6 11.4 12.5 10.2 
Canada geese (total seen) 10 32 17 4l 14 
