80 
It is not believed that much reliance should be placed on these data. Their 
main weakness is that the figures are not oriented in the season's brood population. 
It should also be remembered that Stratum B data are based on very few broods and 
are subject to considerable error. However, the value of the table lies in the 
indication that production in 1954 was of the same order of magnitude as 1951} and 
1952 when it is believed that the brood survey was run somehwhere near the peak of 
the brood season. 
Without data on potential later broods from earlier years for comparison, 
very little more can be said with any degree of certainty. This points up the necessity 
for learning to make use of some method of orienting brood, and even pair, data in 
the entire season's reproductive effort. It is becoming increasingly clear that a 
‘normal season" is so rare as to be an abnormality. It appears that the use of data 
on potential later broods offers the best hope for coping with this problem. 
The Banding of Flightless Young 
This year considerable emphasis was placed on this phase of the breeding 
ground survey. For the first time, State personnel were available to assist in the 
operation. 
The season of 1954 created very difficult conditions for banding in the potholes. 
High water levels enabled broods to escape, either into the brush surrounding the 
potholes, or overland. Furthermore, the fact that water remained in the smaller, 
more temporary areas made it unnecessary for the broods to concentrate in what are 
generally considered "'brood areas'', In addition, due to the lateness of the breeding 
season, few broods were hatched by the start of the banding operation on July 10, and 
the peak of availability of 'bandable" broods did not occur until about the time the 
crews disbanded in mid-August. 
Banding drives were conducted at the beginning with emphasis on mallards 
and coverage was to include all the accessible areas of the Province. However, it 
soon became evident that populations through a large portion of the Province were so 
scattered that few would be banded. Accordingly, the plan was modified. Banding 
was then carried out in the area shown in figure 2 where highest breeding pair 
populations had been recorded during the spring survey. The emphasis on mallards 
was also reduced. Effort was distributed, as shown in figure 2, roughly according 
to the abundance of breeding pairs. Thus there were about equal numbers of pairs in 
each block covered by a week's work. , 
In spite of difficulties, pood numbers of birds were banded as shown in Table 
XIII, Most of these were flightless young. 
