47 
Success of the Season 
Nesting: The 1954 nesting season got off to a very late start. The record- 
breaking cold wave that arrived late in April and lasted until about May 10 substan- 
tially delayed the early nesters - mallard and pintail - which made up the bulk of 
Saskatchewan's population. During early May these species were noted in flocks of 
pairs across the province. Once the weather moderated these flocks immediately 
dispersed into individual nesting pairs. 
The percentage of birds recorded as lone drakes (assumed to have hens 
on nests) may be a valid indicator of the progress of the first nesting attempt. 
May, 1954 43 percent of total recorded as lone drakes 
May, 1953 44 percent of total recorded as lone drakes 
May, 1952 58 percent of total recorded as lone drakes 
This year's first attempt was at the same stage as 1953 but about a month 
behind 1952. 
Broods- Actual and Potential ("Stand" and "Recovery") : A summary of the 
brood survey is presented in Tables I, Il and III. Chart II gives a comparison with 
the three previous years of significant data used for forecasting purposes (as of 
July 25), based on this survey. 
For the second successive year agriculture apparently ruined the chances 
for a "super duck crop" by plowing under many pintail and mallard nests in the 
grassland stubble fields around mid-June. Further east and north the season was 
somewhat later and as a result of these factors, the aerial brood index was under 
100,000 - the lowest since 1950. Further emphasizing the lateness of the season, 
the ratio of broods to potential later broods (pairs, lone drakes and hens) was the 
lowest in recent years. 
- Actual Broods Potential Later Broods 
July, 1954 0.86/sq. mi. 1.77/sq. mi. 
July, 1953 1.61/sq. mi. 2.64/ sq. mi. 
From Table II, it is evident that a good renesting effort and eventual late 
hatch could be expected for mallards; however, most of the pintails that lost their 
early nests apparently made no further attempts. 
Brood Size ("Field Factor") 
. Class I Class II Class Ill Total Broods 
July, 1954 6.95 6.0 4.8 390+ 
July, 1953 7.0 5.5 5.7 644 
This July 10 - 20, 1954, figure of 4.8 was lower than the subsequent July 
26 - August 1 figure of 5.2 young in nearly mature broods. This might be accounted 
for by first nesting attempts started after the April-May cold wave. 
