Pf ae ir ee rir tap pan PM Boho Pooks Goalhh me a apni caanap bart menace of apne wre la Oh me - ve snsene Lowey HARVARD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE: ZOOLOGY ; ae i wi. MG ’ Yet fi i y dae a an 0 Compan ens RS: 6 Zoology aN The CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST Volume 62 1943 Published by THE OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS' CLUB at OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA YShhni 4 ‘ WP OU00N 41h 0 ‘eu ke NACE Thom AAT een +. AR i P ae efit Waa) tee? ee, ce rete | a ag == ee re ds wg! v\ cn #f CoMpays Zoology °@ - f } “Vol 62 ir "a 10 iy 49 JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1948 | No. 1 i is NL tiprar’ ’ The CANADIAN FIELD- NATURALIST Contents a Notes on the country, birds and mammals west of Hudson Bay between Reindeer PMA eakenalvesalt yp den ELe MVEA IMIS c iuerer eC VGN MEE ROWE Bush (iene aeMaa nt ceeie delaras 1 Seventieth annual meeting of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club........0.0.0.0... ce 29 a Statement of financial standing, Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, December 1, 1947 31 A Status of the Montana junco (Junco oreganus montanus) in Ontario. h TESTA ea a VCGras RE ain G5 Va MELB oN See ear eet Aa eM eS 32 } - Notes on a trip to Sable Island, N.S. By W. W. Judd.................... PRES Gri. SV DN 33 ‘ae Sb a _P. A. Taverner — an appreciation. By ifs tata oeNY ABD ct Copies MAM haK ane cae PS Re nil Mera eRe 35 _ Distributional notes on Canadian mollusca. By A. La Rocque............ecccees 36 # ‘Occurrence of a yellow-haired specimen of the eastern posuere di (Erethizon dorsatum dorsatum L.) in Ontario. By N. R. Brown .................... 38 ne The occurrence of a columnar form of the western red cedar. By R. Glendenning .... 39 i Notes and Observations:— i Turkey vulture in Cape Breton Island, N.S. By E. V. Goodwill..................... 41 i Stomach stone in a muskrat. By A. L. Rand and P. A. Orkin............00........ 41 iy Huvenilelskunks) By Ted asusNorrissllve (o/c. uo ee INE el 41 [, Be Hooded! warbler iniQuebec: By (Pe H.. Es iGray idee ets. 42 i.) Cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) at Ottawa. By E. V. Goodwill............ 42 ee i An instance of killer whales feeding on ducks. By Gordon C. Odlum................ 42 Summer flocking of the loon, Gavia immer (Brun.). By A. L. Rand............ 42 ; First New Brunswick specimen of the northeastern long-tailed ermine, he Mustela frenata occisor (Bangs). By N. R. Brown............:..0.0: 43 Sharp-tailed grouse again abundant at Athabaska Delta. By Angus Gavin...... 44 ME MIEWS! fori: ANN BUA tel SSL a st MPS ac Mane AHEM hit) ai U.S ee coh ANTE ne IE ree OE ce 44, & Published by the | OTTAWA FIELD-NATURALISTS’ CLUB Entered at the Post Office at Ottawa, Ont., as second class matter. Che Ottawa Field - Naturalists’ Club — Patrons — Their Excellencies the Governor-General and the Lady Alexander President: W. H. LANCELEY | Ist Vice-President: PAULINE SNURE 2nd Vice-President: J. W. GROvES Treasurer: CLARENCE FRANKTON, __ Secretary: H. J. Scoccan, Division of Botany, National Museum of Canada, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa. Ottawa. Additional Members of Council: R. M. ANDERSON, E. G. ANDERSON, W. K. W. BALDWIN, A. W. F. BanFietp, Rev. F. E. Bantu, A. E. Bourcuicnon, I. L. ConNERs, W. J. Copy, W. G. Dore, H. D. FIsHER, R. FRITH, W. E. Goprrey, H. Grou, O. H. Hewitt, D. LEECHMAN, R. F. Leccet, H. F. LEwIs, H. Lioyvp, WiLtmMotT Lrovp, W. H. MInsHAtLt, AN PORSILD,F. oA: SENN, W. E. F. Sotman. Auditors: 1. L. CoNNERS and H. F. Lewis. Editor Dr. H. A. SENN, _ Division of Botany Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa Associate Editors DS JENNESS 0).4..00655... Anthropology CrypEil: PATCH aia Herpetology SP ANDI 80 J A Re Botany R. M. ANDERSON ........--.--- Mammalogy Pt EAROCOUB IS. 8s he Conchology A. G. Huntsman ........ Marine Biology ARTHUR GIBSON .............. .. Entomology W. Eart GODFREY ............ Ornithology Pei Jes ABCOCK Joneses ie GEOlOgy We Av BEED: Uo See? Palaeontology jo Dy MOND ane Ichthyology The official publications of THE Ottawa Fietp-NaturAtists’ CLuB have been issued since 1879. The first were The Transactions of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, 1879,1886, two volumes; the next, The Ottawa Naturalist, 1886-1919, thirty-two volumes: and these have been continued by The Canadian Field-N aturalist to date. The Canadian Field-N aturalist is issued bi-monthly. Its scope is the publication of the results of original research in all departments of Natural History. Price of this volume (6 numbers) $3.00; Single copies 60c each. Subscription ($3.00 nen year) should be forwarded to Dr. C. FRANKTON, Div. of Botany, Central Experimental Farm, — _ OTTAWA, CANADA mn of Compae— =e Zoolods 5\ ; Naianasl 7 The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol. 62 OTTAWA, CANADA, JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1948 No. 1 ~ NOTES ON THE COUNTRY, BIRDS AND MAMMALS WEST OF HUDSON BAY BETWEEN REINDEER AND BAKER LAKES. '* By T. H. MANNING Ottawa, Ont. INTRODUCTION N THE SUMMER of 1945, my wife and I formed one of the four parties from the Geodetic Service of Canada which were establishing astronomical control positions for aerial survey in the region west of Hudson Bay. We worked through a strip of country from a point a little east of Reindeer Lake to just north of Chesterfield Inlet. The other parties were to the west of us. All our move- ments between stations were by a Norseman aircraft piloted by F/L W. K. Carr, D.F.C. We returned from Baker Lake to The Pas in a Canso aircraft, making a short stop at atemporary R.C.A.F. base on the Kazan River. When held up by bad weather or the late break-up of ice on the lakes ahead, there was opportunity to make collections of, and obser- vations on the birds and mammals. These collections have been purchased by the Royal Ontario Museum and the National Museum respectively, In 1930, Porsild (1936) made an investiga- tion of the reindeer grazing conditions in the Keewatin district. He has kindly allowed me to examine and use his manuscript notes on the birds he saw about the upper Tha-anne River which he visited by plane (July 11-12), and in the Yathkyed Lake and lower Kazan River areas. These notes were also used by Clarke (1938), and I have included only the extracts which were not published in Clarke’s more general account, to which the reader is also referred for a bibliography and a summary of the birds and mammals of the surrounding regions. A small collection of birds and mammais was made in the Yathkyed Lake area by Peter Freuchen and Helge Bangsted (Degerbol and Freuchen 1935, and MHorring 1937). Sutton (1931) gives a few notes on the birds between 1) Received for publication May, 1946. Eskimo Point and Churchill on his journey down the coast between August 19 and Sep- tember 2, and a thorough account of the birds of Churchill is given by Taverner and Sutton (1934). An earlier summary of the birds and mammals of Keewatin (including what is now northern Manitoba and Ontario) was made by Preble (1902). Except at Baker Lake where several small casual collections have been made, Porsild’s two specimens and notes from the upper Tha-anne River appear to be the only faunal records from the vicinity of the strip of country in which we worked. Since the reports of Clarke (1938) and Taverner and Sutton (1934), no work on the fauna has been done between the Hudson Bay coast on the east and the Great Slave-Atha- basca region in the west. A new general sur- vey of the fauna is therefore unwarranted, and in the present paper reference will usually be made only to the species actually seen by me. Since this was only a spare time study and the periods spent at most of the stations were very short, it is clear that the following lists will not be complete. I am indebted to Dr. R. M. Anderson and Dr A. L. Rand for assistance and advice in the identification of specimens and to Mr. A. E. Porsild for the use of his manuscript notes on the birds as mentioned above. My wife has given valuable assistance in recording my notes and labeling specimens in the field as well as in the preparation of the manus- cript. DESCRIPTION OF PLACES VISITED 1° Eyrie Lake. June 14-16. 1260 feet above sea level*. The land in the vicinity of Eyrie Lake is flat with small, rounded hills and 2) Numbers refer to location on map. 3) This and the following altitudes are thought to be within 60 feet of the true height. Vol. 61, No. 6, November-December, 1947, was issued February 13, 1948. 2S 4 2 . THE CANADIAN ridges rising only about 50 feet above the surface of the lake. Except for small marshes, the country was covered by spruce forest with occasional patches (2 to 3 square miles each) of white birch. There were also isolated birches amongst the spruce especially near the water. A few jack pines grew on top of a dry, 20- foot ridge close to camp. On this ridge and on other dry areas the trees were spaced sufficiently far apart to admit comfortable walking with only an occasional detour to avoid deadfalls, and the Labrador tea of the wetter places was replaced by a nearly continuous growth of caribou moss. When we left The Pas the trees were in almost full leaf, but the birch at Eyrie Lake showed hardly a sign of green. Eyrie Lake and others in the neighbour- hood were rather shallow, and probably for that reason were almost entirely free from ice, though Reindeer Lake, 35 miles to the west was still largely ice-covered. At The Pas, Lake Atikameg (locally known as Clearwater Lake) was covered by an almost continuous, . though rotten sheet of ice until about June 12‘, but the shallow, muddy Root and Rocky lakes were quite warm on June 8. 2. North end of Big Sand Lake. June 16-19. 1060 feet above sea level. Our camp at Big Sand Lake was on the north side of a large island which cut off an ice-free portion of the lake from the main southern section which was still covered by a nearly continuous sheet of ice. Perhaps because of the proximity of this ice, the vegetation was considerably more backward than at Eyrie Lake, and even the alder and willow were without a vestige of green. There may have been jack pine on the hills which rose about 60 feet above the lake, but in the vicinity of the camp the land was too damp. A few birch grew scattered amongst the spruce. On this damp ground there was a profusion of undergrowth, Labra- dor tea, and deadfalls which made walking in the neighbourhood of the lake shore extre- mely difficult. 3. Neck Lake.. June 19-22. 840 feet above sea level. The ground in the vicinity of our camp was mostly damp. It supported a growth of Labrador tea and sphagnum moss 4) When we arrived at The Pas, the spring was, and had been, about one to two weeks later than normal. The late break-up was general throughout northern Manitoba and Keewatin, and I think the vegetation was correspondingly late coming into leaf at all our stations. The summer, however, was fine and not unusually cold. FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 with small, scattered patches of caribou lichen. There were larger patches towards the hill tops, 30 to 50 feet above the lake. The forest area was continuous, but the trees were smaller and farther apart than at the two previous stations. The largest spruce trees grew around the edge of the lake where there were also occasional white birch, but few of either species grew to more than 8 inches in diameter. On some of the hillsides more than half the trees had died before reaching a diameter of 3 inches, owing per- haps to the poorness of the soil. A few small (2 to 3 feet high) tamaracks were just starting to sprout leaves. The birch were bare of leaves when we arrived but were showing ~ green when we left on June 19. Neck Lake was completely free from ice, but the larger Tadoule Lake, a few miles to the north-east, was still solidly covered. 4. Sandhill Lake. June 23-July 6. 900 feet above sea level. When we arrived at Sandhill Lake on June 22nd, it was the only lake within a radius of 15 or 20 miles sufficiently clear of ice to permit landing. There were still patches of snow where it had drifted deep amongst the trees. About 20 miles farther north all but the very smallest lakes were frozen, and there were numerous patches of snow. The line between the ice- free lakes (except for a few large ones) and the almost completely ice bound conditions, corresponded to the tree line, and occupied much the same transition area as that bet- ween the first patches of barrens and the last patches of trees. When we arrived at Sandhill Lake, the white birch, willow, alder and tamarack showed scarcely any signs of spring. Until the 30th June, the weather remained cold and there was no advance in the vegetation; after that a few very warm days rapidly brought out the green on all the trees except the white birch, and covered the barren areas with the white bloom of the bake-apple plant. About 80 per cent of the country around Sandhill Lake was forested with black spruce and patches of tamarack. White birch grew only on a long, narrow esker running across the lake and on the top of some barren sand and gravel moraines which were the highest hills (60 feet) in the immediate vicinity — both surprisingly exposed positions for a species at the northern extremity of its range. For the most part, the spruce was sufficiently far apart to permit easy walking, and much of the dryer ground had a park-like appear- January-February, 1948] THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALiST 3 Boker Lake “n nn I7©3 A me SS eee e/d Hs ©'6 0 NO Se Kaminuriok Chester Lake ‘ ()) 14 : Ce} « Q 13 y in Fs, pon 2 \ Tavani Tre 2D ? \ HUDSON AO We $ Eskimo i oint | on ere BAY NS 6@) Ss % e [16 Nueltin a : Bara/zon : BS a Nunnulla 2 Opi 25 7150 190 q Lake Churchill Wpueer f Lake @ FIG. 1. Map of Reindeer Lake -Baker Lake area. For index to numbers representing localities see pages 1-6. 4 THE CANADIAN ance, with a carpet of caribou lichen taking the place of grass. In the damp areas, both forested and barren, the lichens were replaced by sphagnum mosses and Labrador tea, the latter growing with smaller leaves where not sheltered by trees. About an equal area of dry and marsh land was barren. Scrubby spruce grew around the edges of the latter, and frequently appeared to be encroaching, but in both dry and wet situations, patches of dead and fallen trees showed an equal retreat of the forest. In some of the dry areas where trees were absent or very scattered, dwarf birch grew thickly to a height of about 21 feet. 5. Malaher Lake. July 6-14. 650 feet above sea level. Between the time of our arrival and departure from Sandhill Lake there was a great change in the condition of the ice to the north, and on July 6, we found Malaher Lake (about 6x1 miles in area) and similar-sized lakes completely free from ice. The vegetation at Malaher Lake was con- siderably less advanced than at Sandhill Lake. Dwarf birch and alder and willow were just breaking into leaf, and a few of the bake- apple flowers were opening, but from a dis- tance the tamarack woods looked brown and dead. When we moved on July 14th eight days later, the tamarack was green, and the dwarf birch was almost in full leaf. In the Malaher Lake region, patches of woodland occupied about the same areas as did the patches of barrens at Sandhill Lake (i.e. 20 per cent), but between the two lakes there were some areas even more sparsely wooded. Approximately two-thirds of the trees within 10 miles of the station were tamarack; the remainder were spruce. Little spinneys of both species grew thickly along small gullies or in sheltered places along the lake shore, but single tamarack trees _ also grew almost to the tops of hills. Half these single trees were dead, but both at this and succeeding points, wherever trees grew in a group they were vigorous and _ flourishing. The spruce and tamarack grew to an equal height in sheltered places. In more open situations, the latter were often dwarfed and creeping. Dwarf birch was plentiful in mod- erately wet places, especially where there was a good depth of soil or peat. Alder bordered about a quarter of the lake shore. Labrador tea was plentiful in the marshy, wet areas both of the barrens and the woods. The hills rose to about 100 feet above the lake and FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 were often boulder covered. Only one real grass marsh was visited. 6. Boundary Lake. July 14-16. 550 feet above sea level. Between Malaher Lake and Boundary Lake the amount of wooded country decreased until at the latter place there was only about 4 per cent. Tamarack grew 15 or 20 feet high, but spruce was re- presented by creeping scrub only. The leaves on trees and shrubs were not noticeably less advanced than at Malaher Lake. The hills surrounding Boundary Lake are low (about 40 feet above the lake), glacial moraines whose tops and sides were covered with fairly dry tussock tundra, Labrador tea - and bake-apple. The lower ground was wet and marshy with considerable areas of grass- land. Patches of alder grew two or three ‘feet high, but it lined only a very small por- tion of the lake’s edge. 7. Tha-anne River. July 16-20. 550 feet above sea level. As far as we could tell while flying at about 3,000 feet direct from Boundary Lake to our station on the Tha- anne River, the trees ended completely a short way north of the lake, but recommenced abruptly north of the Thlewiaza River where there was a short strip of country with about 30 per cent forest. This percentage decreased to 20 near our station on the Tha-anne River. Spruce and tamarack grew in about equal proportions, but the latter was mostly stunted. The base of one spruce measured 20 inches in circumference although only 15 feet high. Several tamarack measured a foot in diame- ter, and were about 20-25 feet high. The Tha- anne River was the only station where white spruce was noted. A little alder grew in dam- per areas near the lakes and on dryer ground there were patches of birch. In the vicinity ' of the river there was considerable dry, sandy ground. Elsewhere, grassy marshland and low, rather dry drift-covered hills occupied most of the barren areas. The whole country is very flat with a few isolated hills rising conspicuously 40 or 50 feet above their sur- roundings. 8. Boulder Lake. July 20-24. 900 feet above sea level. Small clumps (usually 4 to 100) of well-grown tamarack covered about 2 per cent of the country. Spruce grew only as scrub, and this, with alder and dwarf wil- low and birch (over 6 feet high), covered another 2 to 3 per cent. A characteristic feature of the country surrounding Boulder Lake is the great number January-February, 1948] THE CANADIAN of large granite boulders that cover the hills (60 feet) and lie in strings and patches in the valleys. The few exposures of solid rock examined were of the same massive granite as the boulders. 9. North end of South Henik Lake. July 24-26. 640 feet above sea level. Three miles north of the station there is a cons- picuous 600-foot hill of white quartzite, and a bold, rounded ridge of the same rock runs south-west from this hill. To the north- east there is a group of rolling hills, the nearer ones of which are quarizite. The west shore (except at our camp at the north end) of South Henik Lake is low and flat, and almost or quite treeless,” but a few miles from the shore there are small scattered areas of spruce. Near our camp there were patches of spruce scrub and dwarf willow 8 feet high, and a few well-shaped spruce trees grew in places sheltered by the hills. These together covered about 6 per cent of the country. There were also considerable areas of low (18-inch) dwarf birch. We saw neither alder nor tamarack. On the way to Camp Lake, just east of South Henik Lake, we flew over 15 to 20 miles of country covered by 10 to 25 per cent of woodland. This was the last we saw of spruce or tamarack. 10. Camp Lake. July 26-August 2. 340 feet above sea level. Spruce and tamarack were absent. Dwarf birch grew profusely to a height of about two and a half feet between the ridges, and covered 10 per cent of the total land. In the wetter places it was re- placed by willow. Grass marshes accounted for another 20 per cent of the country, and the rest was taken up by the dry, rather bare tops and sides of glacial moraines. Two or three miles to the east of Camp Lake some small, scattered hills of solid rock rise 20 to 40 feet above their surroundings. From a distance these appear almost moun- tainous in contrast to the smooth, low outline of the moraines. These moraines run in an east-west direction and control the shape of the numerous small lakes that lie between them. The bays of the larger lakes are similarly controlled and elongated in an east- west direction. 11. Carr Lake. August 2-6. 130 feet above sea level. The vegetation was similar to that at Camp Lake except that there was less grassy marshland. °) This area was not visited and hence is excluded from the population estimates given under the species seen at South Henik Lake. FIELD-NATURALIST 5 Our camp was half way along a narrow mile-long promontory formed by an esker of sand, gravel and boulders which continued over the land to the south for several miles. About 15 miles away at the north end of the lake there is a conspicuous hill probably rising 500 feet above the lake surface. 12. Alder Lake. August 6-10. 90 feet above sea level. The greater part of Alder Lake is shoal and rocky. On its east side there are low (60 feet), barren, rocky ridges amongst which are _ well-defined marine beaches. To the north and south the land is smoother and covered by glacial drift. In general, the vegetation is distinctly more arctic than at any of the previous stations. Dryas octopetala was seen for the first time, and Casiopea tetragona replaced the Labrador tea in most places. Where Labrador tea did grow, it was very small and dwarfed, but in sheltered places there were several acres of low, dwarf birch which gave cover to the Savannah sparrows and ptarmigan, and in some places amongst the ridges there were patches of dwarf willow 2 or 3 feet high. In one spot a small patch of alder grew luxur- iantly, with stems to 2 inches thick. There was very little grassy marshland. 13. Victory Lake. August 10-15. 230 feet above sea level. Victory Lake is formed by a broadening of the Ferguson River a few miles after it leaves Kaminuriak Lake. The water is deep and clear, but the shores of the lake are low and flat on both sides. Several of the small points, like the one on which we camped, have short boulder ridges about 12 feet high on their up-stream side, presumably caused by ice action at the spring break-up. A mile or two from the south-west shore of the lake, low, rolling hills commence. Ten -miles to the west they rise 300 or 400 feet above the lake, and from the air their bare rock tops appeared mottled with large white patches. Within a radius of 3 or 4 miles of our camp, the ground was chiefly moderately dry tundra of which about half was covered by low, dwarf birch. There was only a little grassy marshland. 14. Derby Lake. above sea level. August 15-16. 200 feet 15. Lake Ninety-Seven. August 16-17. 370 feet above sea level. 16. Twin Lake. August 17-21. 120 feet above sea level. 17. Smoke Lake. August 21-23. 150 feet above sea level. 6 THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST Owing to good weather, the last five sta- tions were completed too quickly for more than the most cursory observations on the country and fauna to be made. All these points were in the true barren country, and the general appearance of the flora was similar in kind and quantity to that at places several hundred miles farther north. There was very little dwarf willow or birch and the hilltops and slopes were either boulder-cov- ered moraine, or, as at Smoke Lake, bare, solid rock. There were small lakes and marsh- land between the ridges, but no extensive areas of grass marshland such as are favoured by sandpipers. Our camp at Derby Lake was at the south end near where the Wilson River flows out. There were several small beacons and other signs of an Eskimo camping ground nearby. The surrounding hills do not rise to more than 30 or 40 feet. The north part of Lake Ninety-Seven is filled with shoals and small islands; the southern part is comparatively clear. Near the south-east end of the lake there is a prom- inent hill rising to about 150 feet above the surrounding country. The remainder of the hills which are composed of both drift and solid rock do not rise more than 30 feet above the lake. Twin Lake is another’ shallow, island- filled lake. Sclid rock is exposed on the tops of the higher hills (about 60 feet), but the lower ridges are principally composed of drift material. Our camp was on an esker* similar to that at Carr Lake, but running about 10° east of north. As Chesterfield Inlet is approached from Twin Lake, bare solid rock becomes more frequent, and on the north side of the inlet the hills are rather higher and _ distinctly more rugged. The highest rises about 250 feet above Smoke Lake. As might be expected in this type of country, Smoke Lake is deep and clear. From Smoke Lake we saw a column of smoke rising from the south side of the Connery River. We flew over to exam- ine this smoke which appeared to be rising from amongst some boulders. From the air we could not discern the cause, but F/L Carr learned at Chesterfield post that peat fires 8) I can recall seeing only two well marked eskers north and east of the region between Sandh ll and Malaher lakes, but farther west they are num- erous. The sand, gravel and boulder eskers at Carr and Twin lakes are very different from the pure sand eskers at Sandhill Lake and further south. It seems reasonable to suppose that any sand eskers that there may have been in the lower country were destroyed by post-glacial marine erosion. [Vol. 62 had previously been reported by the Eskimos. This had been an exceptionally dry season. 18.. Christopher Island. August 23-24. Sea level. 19. Baker Lake Post. August 2426. Sea level. The hills on the north side of Chesterfield Inlet increase in height as Baker Lake is ap- proached, and probably reach 600 feet near the exit from the lake. Westward from there along the north shore of the lake, their height decreases again and the country becomes less rugged. Near Baker Lake post, the maximum height of the hills is about 100 feet, with broad grass-, lichen-, and heath-covered — valleys. The country along the south side of Baker Lake is similar to that at Baker Lake post. There is one cliff, and some fairly rough _ 150-foot hills at the eastern end of Christopher Island, but the western coast is flatter coun- try. Small patches of a large-leafed dwarf willow grew 3 or 4 feet high on Christopher Island, and there were larger patches amongst the hills on the mainland to the east. Some of the beaches at the east end of Baker Lake are composed entirely of shells. One of these shell deposits on Christopher Island was at least 3 feet deep. According to Father Choque, a missionary at Baker Lake post, there is an occasional tide of a few inches at that place. We noted a 6-inch rise at Christopher Island on August 23, the date of full moon. Lines of kelp clearly showed that the water occasionally reached higher levels either through tides or floods. According to some residents at Baker Lake post, the lake has been unusually low during recent years. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE BIRDS As mentioned above, the snow and the break-up of the lakes was one to two weeks behind normal. This may have had an effect on the bird life, although it was’ not apparent in the single season’s work. There were reports at The Pas that white-fronted geese, Anser albifrons, were nesting in the neigh- bourhood, and through the courtesy of Mr G. W. Malaher I was able to make a trip with a Manitoba Game Warden, Mr. J. Reader, to Root and Rocky lakes, one of the areas where the geese had been seen. There were large numbers of many species of water birds on and about these lakes, but we saw no signs of the white-fronted geese, and it seems probable that although delayed at The Pas by the late break-up well beyond their usual time, they had finally moved north. January-February, 1948] Tse CanapiAN FreLp-NaTuRALIST FIG. 2. June 24. At 2,000 feet. Looking north-east from Sandhill Lake. There is some rotten ice in the lake in the foreground and in the distance the lakes are all frozen. The light patches at left centre and extreme right are bare sand as is also the light streak in the centre of the esker. FIG. 3. A portion of the barren ground shown in the foreground of the top photograph. 8 THE CANADIAN In the following annotated list of birds, the omission of any reference to a species at a particular station means that it was not observed there. Owing to the very limited time available for investigating the fauna at most of the stations, it is probable that a few of the less common but regular resident species were missed. When the numbers are large they are estimates (recorded daily) rather than actual counts. For species which were seen regularly and in sufficient numbers to warrant averaging, I have given the popula- tion per square mile of land (exclusive of lakes). This is derived from three estimates: (1) The number of birds seen at the station, (2) Distance walked, (3) Distance at which birds of that species could be seen. Since the time I spent in certain habitats was not al- ways proportionate to the area covered by these habitats, a further adjustment has fre- quently been necessary. Taken as an absolute number, the error in the figures may approach 100 per cent or more if the numbers are small, but the relative error between similarly sized species or between the same species at different stations should be considerably less. On the semi-barrens some species are found only or mostly in small clumps of trees or scrub. I have therefore in some cases made an estimate of the population per square mile of bush-covered country as well as onefor the whole land area. Included in the “bush” area are all patches of tamarack and spruce, and alder, willow or birch if they are over 6 feet. The latter may seem rather arbitrary, but at our stations at least, there was a sharp gap between rather thin dwarf willow and birch (chiefly birch) which covered wide areas on the barrens and were seldom over 3 feet high, and small patches in sheltered hollows of dense dwarf willow and alder usually higher than a man. This latter type of cover was often associated with tamarack and _ spruce and was not seen after we had left the last spruce at South Henik Lake. It was as popular a habitat for the American robin, grey-cheeked thrush and black-polled warbler as the spruce and tamarack, but slightly less favoured by the Harris’ sparrow. None of these five species was seen more than casually in the lower dwarf willow and birch mentioned above. The proportion of tall willow and alder’ to spruce and tamarack’ was sufficiently large to be of importance only at Boulder and South Henik lakes. 7) Alder and tamarack were not seen at the latter place. FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 It will be seen from the map that we commenced work 180 miles southwest of the tree line about the beginning of the nesting season and that we reached typical inland barren ground country before the end of the nesting season. This provided an excellent opportunity to observe the variation in bird numbers through the transition from forest to barren grounds (see table 1). The country we passed through may be divided into four faunal zones as follows: (1) Spruce forest. This zone was represen- ted by Big Sand Lake and Neck Lake. In it, the number of individuals was small—about 70 to the square mile. As the time spent at these two stations was short, the scarcity of individuals naturally affected the number of species recorded which was only 17. (2) Fairly thin spruce forest with a small percentage of barren ground. Sandhill Lake was the only station we had in this type of country. The number of species (28) was more than seen further north at any one place and the number of individuals (285) was considerably greater than further south. The absence of longspurs and ptarmigan and the presence of Canada jays, pine grosbeaks and spruce grouse separates it from zone 3. (3) Barren ground with patches of spruce and tamarack. We had five stations in this zone. The average number of birds. per square mile increased to 375, owing largely to Lapland longspurs which averaged 140 to the square mile. Thirty-one species were recorded. American robins, black-poll war- blers, grey-cheeked thrushes and particularly Harris’ sparrow were some of the birds which were fairly numerous to the extreme limit of trees but apparently did not get beyond them. We had ten stations on the barren grounds, but only short stops were made at some of them, and after Alder Lake, August 10, I believe many of the birds had begun to migra- te, probably towards the coast of Hudson Bay. The number of species (23) and individuals were fewer than in the transition from the wooded regions, and the small numbers of ducks and sandpipers which were seen in this inland region of the Precambrian Shield is worth noting in comparison with coastal re- gions. About half the total bird population was made up of Lapland longspurs. Common Loon. Gavia immer (Briinnich). — Fourteen com- mon loons were recorded at Sandhill Lake, and 3 at Neck Lake. An additional 12 at the January-February, 1948] THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST TABLE 1.—BIRD POPULATION No. on Area Time Estimated Estimated No. Map Name bush Date observing no. birds no. birds species seen p.sq.mi. seen Tee Byrie: Lake 20. 8iiee 100% June 14-16 (No observation 2. Big Sand Lake............... 100% ” 16-19 5 hrs. 100 100 13 SoeuNeck® Lakes 20.5 csieccs 100% Bem G22 2 lO ise 70 40 11 4. Sandhill Lake ................ 80% BO Ope 43 =” 800 270 28 July 6 5. Malaher Lake ................ 20% v 6-14 14 ” © 530 320 21 (Half in bush) 6. Boundary Lake .............. 4% ”» 1416 4 hrs. 190 450 15 (Third in bush) 7. Tha-anne River. .............. 20% ” 16-20 6%hrs. 250 340 20 (Half in bush) 8. Boulder Lake .................. 5% » 20-24 9'%hrs.- 430 300 19 (2/5 in bush) 9. South Henik Lake.......... 6% » 24-26 6 hrs. 220 480 16 (1/12 in bush) OMe Camp Wake 2... Barren ” — 26- 14 hrs. 370 420 17 Aug. 2 (30% juvenile) TAILS (CORTON GN ese rae eee 2 22 2-6 10 hrs. 180 180 17 : (50% juvenile) 12. Alder Lake ................0..00. oy 2 6-10 7 ” 130 210 8 5 (70% juvenile) lSyeavictory Lake 42.0008 0-- de >No Oa Dywcge ae 140 160 11. (65% juvenile) 14. Derby Lake ...................... 2 ” 15-16 No observation 15. Lake Ninety-seven .......... % ”» 16-17 2 hrs. 40 150 8 J A (65% juvenile) HGH gel wane Lake .....265..5e...60c3 » 17-21 4 hrs. 50 110 8 5 (70% juvenile) Ie OINOKE AKC ees. cccscecsesues 2 91-93. 2) hrs. 30 150 1 i (75% juvenile) 18. Christopher Island. .......... 22 » 23-24 No observation 19. Baker Lake Post............... Ms » 24-26 3 hrs. 60 160 3 (70% juvenile) former and 3 at the latter place were not identified specifically. Nine loons seen at Malaher Lake and 2 at Boundary Lake were also not identified. One common loon was heard at Carr Lake, and 1 at Twin Lake. A near view was obtained of 3 common loons at Lake Ninety-Seven. The measurements of an unsexed specimen collected for me by F/L Carr a few miles east of Brochet Post on Reinder Lake were: flattened wing, 342 mm., culmen 75 mm. Yellow-billed Loon. Gavia adamsii (Gray). — I kept a careful watch for this loon, but saw none during the season. Porsild (M.S.), however, says, ‘‘Per- haps the most common of the loons of the interior. During August and September 1930 observed daily on the Kazan River as well as on the lakes through which the Kazan flows’. Perhaps its normal eastern limit in these latitudes is somewhere between our stations and the Kazan River. Pacific Loon. Gavia arctica pacifica (Lawrence).— One of a pair of Pacific loons was collected at Camp Lake, and two other pairs were seen there. One of these latter was accompanied by two downy young. Another pair with one young was seen at Twin Lake. Eight adults (one group of 2, and one of 6) were seen feeding on Carr Lake. Some of the unidentified loons recorded under G. immer may belong to this species. Red-throated Loon. Gavia stellata (Pontoppidan).—A pair was collected and two other pairs seen at Twin Lake. It is not likely that any of the uni- dentified loons recorded under G. immer be- longed to this species. 10 Canada Goose. Branta canadensis (Linnaeus). — Ten geese, probably of this species, were seen in the distance at Big Sand Lake. At Neck Lake 2, and at Sandhill Lake, 18, Can- ada geese were seen. All appeared large, and were probably B.c. interior. A pair of Canada geese with about 5 young were seen at Camp Lake, and another pair with 2 young at Carr Lake. The female of the latter pair was collected. Its measurements, flattened wing, 380 mm., culmen 38 mm., depth of bill, 20 mm., depth into culmen, 1.90 mm., fall within the size range given by Taverner (1931) for B.c. leucopareia. Porsild found Canada geese very common on the lower Kazan River and on the south shore of Baker Lake in the latter part of August. He saw a pair at latitude 63° 11’ on ‘the Kazan, and on August 2, he collected 4 juvenile specimens. On August 29, he saw a large flock of upwards of 100 birds. The average of Taverner’s measurements (National Museum of Canada records) of Por- sild’s four specimens are: mid toe and claw, 68.6 mm.; tarsus, 77.2 mm.; toe into tarsus, 1.11 mm.; culmen, 35.2 mm.; depth of bill, 19.4 mm.; depth into culmen, 1.91 mm. Al- though some of these measurements approach those given by Taverner (1931) for B.c. hut- chinsii the tarsus is considerably larger, and when it is remembered that they are rather young juveniles, there seems little doubt that they are referable to B.c. leucopareia. American Pintail. Anas acuta tzitzihoa Vieillot. — A single fem- ale was seen and collected at Malaher Lake. It behaved as if it had a nest nearby, al- though I was unable to locate it. Four pin- _ tails were seen at Boundary Lake. Baldpate. Mareca americana (Gmelin). — Four were identified and 1 collected at Big Sand Lake. Two more were seen at Neck Lake. TABLE 2.—POPULATIONS OF THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 Shoveller. Spatula clypeata (Linnaeus). — Four were identified at Big Sand Lake. Old-Squaw. Clangula hyemalis (Linnaeus). — One old squaw was seen at Malaher Lake, 5 at Boun- dary Lake and 1 at Carr Lake. Six adults, one of which had a family of 7 downies, were seen at Camp Lake. At Victory Lake, one adult with 15 young were seen. The adult and two young were collected. Surf Scoter. C Melanitta perspicillata (Linnaeus). — Two surf scoters were collected from a feeding flock of 5 near Sandhill Lake. An additional 9 seen flying over Sandhill Lake were thought to be of this species. Two flocks of scoters (about 10 each) at Neck Lake were not identified specifically. American Scoter. Oidemia nigra americana Swainson. — Two were collected from a feeding group of 3 near Boulder Lake. Another 4 unidentified ducks were probably of this species. Red-breasted Merganser. Mergus serrator Linnaeus. (Table 2.)—Since the 5 birds collected were all M. serrator, and other evidence of the occurrence of M. mer- ganser is lacking, it has been assumed that all the mergansers seen were M. serrator. If this be correct, M. serrator appears to be fairly evenly distributed over the area inves- tigated between the extreme southern bor- der of the barren areas (Sandhill Lake) and the extreme northern limit of trees. The average population of mergansers was 1 to 2 to a square mile. No evidence of nesting was observed. Our failure to see any mer- gansers north of the north end of South Henik Lake may have been partly due to all males and non-breeding females having gone out to the coast. RED-BREASTED MERGANSER Sandhill Lake Malaher Lake Boundary Lake Tha-anne River nee eee e eee e neem e ene eee ean nee eeeesesesenes Beene ene e eee e eee e nee ee eee e ee eee eee eee aeeeeee ees easeeeeseas No. Area of bush No. seen Collected 80% 1 4 > at ee OP Pp & January-February, 1948] Tur CanapiaAN FIELD-NATURALIST f 11 FIG. 4. Sendhill Lake. Dwarf birch spreading over dry ground in which the spruce have died. The bare tamarack can be seen among the spruce at the right of the photograph. FIG. 5. White birch on the sand hills at Sandhill Lake. Wy THE CANADIAN American Rough-legged Hawk. Buteo lagopus s.johannis (Gmelin).—A pair of light phased individuals had a nest on a cliff at Christopher Island. The eldest of the 4 young in this nest was about ready to leave it and jumped out when disturbed (August 23). This was the only true cliff visited during the summer. Bald Eagle. Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus). — A pair of bald eagles had a nest at the top of a pine tree on a ridge 20 feet above Eyrie Lake. Gyrfalcon. Falco rusticolus obsoletus Gmelin.—Porsild collected a gyrfalecon (probably juvenile) at Chesterfield on September 10, 1930. - Duck Hawk. Falco peregrinus anatum Bonaparte. — Only one pair was seen. At Carr Lake, they had a nest on top of a 2% foot high rock on a boulder-strewn plain 5 miles from the nearest rocky hills. The single downy young was about a week old. The downy and the female parent were collected. The downy had been feeding on small birds; the parent on lemm- ing. In flight the female appeared dark- breasted while the male appeared quite white. Spruce Grouse . Canachites canadensis (Linnaeus). — This species was seen only at Sandhill Lake. Three of the five (all male) individuals seen were collected. They frequented the thickest clumps of spruce which were usually situated near the lake edge. The population in the vicinity of the lake was about 2 per square mile. The three specimens were inseparable from specimens of C.c. osgoodi from the Yukon Territory. Both my specimens and FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 the Yukon birds were greyer and less brown on the wing and back than _ specimens of C.c. canadensis from James Bay and further east. A series of Wood Buffalo Park males were also tinged with brown on the wing. The wing (chord) measurements of the 3 Sandhill Lake birds were 176, 175 and 172 mm. ; Willow Ptarmigan. Lagopus lagopus lagopus (Linnaeus). (Table 3).—All the willow ptarmigan seen south of and including Alder Lake were males. Bet- ween Malaher Lake and Victory Lake they were fairly evenly distributed with about one male to a square mile, or one pair to a_ square mile if it be assumed that there was an equivalent number of unobserved sitting females. The 10 birds seen at Alder Lake were a pair and their 8 young. The latter on August 8 were still less than half the size of the parents, but able to fly well. In coun- try with scattered spruce and tamarack the willow ptarmigan were usually found in clumps of these trees or else in thick clumps of willow or birch scrub. Further north they were found amongst dwarf birch. “In August 1930, the species was exceed- ingly common on the Kazan River and in the Yathkyed Lake district. Two broods of young appeared to be the rule, as in August adult birds were generally accompanied by two flocks of young of different size and age.” (Porsild MS). From the above and from conversation with Porsild, it is clear that ptarmigan were much more numerous about the Kazan and Yathkyed Lake region in 1930 than they were in our area in 1945. The difference is pro- bably due to a cycle rather than the region. All my 9 specimens had black-shafted primaries, and, following Peters (1934 p..30), are referred to L.l. lagopus. TABLE 3.—POPULATIONS OF WILLOW PTARMIGAN Area of bush No. seen No. collected Malaher Lake Boundary Wake a. licens cece as meena toee tees MN a-ANHEPRIVEN. cise wees eee ss SS Boulder Lake Camp Lake Carr Lake Alder Lake WACTORYV sai alie ita. tee te oceeh ea i Ble Peccueens *Including young. Pe ee 20% 5 2 Oa AT RAN 4% 2 ik Be aM Rea ee ie I 20% 2 2 SR ee aE 5% 2 See ee eee est 6% 1 as ie net eines Barren 1 a hs A RE 2 2, ska Nadoabbncae case s 10*. 3 aha tte eu et 2 January-February, 1948] Rock Ptarmigan. Lagopus mutus rupestris (Gmelin). — At Alder Lake a female and about 8 young were seen in a clump of dwarf birch within a hundred yards of the willow ptarmigan family. The young of both were in about the same stage of development. The adult female was scarcely able to fly owing to the moulting of several of its primaries. The parent and two of the young were collected. Four rock ptarmigan were seen amongst the dwarf birch at Victory Lake, and a male and two females were collected. Porsild (MS) saw no rock ptarmigan west of Hudson Bay in August and September. Little Brown Crane. Grus canadensis canadensis (Linnaeus).—An adult pair later joined by 2 immature was seen at Carr Lake, and one other adult pair at Christopher Island. On Sept. 28-29, Por- sild (MS) saw a pair on the south shore of Baker Lake. - ity of Sandhill Lake, THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST 13 Semipalmated Plover. Charadrius hiaticula semipalmatus Bonapar- te. — (Table 4.)—One or two semipalmated plovers could usually be seen running busily about on any large sandy beach in the vicin- but they were seen nowhere at that place, and they gave no sign of having nests. They were undoubtedly nest- ing at Malaher and Boulder lakes and at the Tha-anne River. They favour dry, sandy or gravelly ground with short vegetation close to large lakes or the sea. The large number of semipalmated plovers near our station at the Tha-anne River was probably quite local and due to the numerous sand beaches and dry’ sand ridges along the river. The edge of Boundary Lake was too wet and lacking in sandy beaches. Carr Lake was very suitable, but none were seen there or elsewhere on the barren ground. It is just possible that they migrate to the _ coast directly the young can fly and had begun to move before we reached Carr Lake on August 2. No juveniles were seen. TABLE 4.—POPULATIONS OF SEMIPALMATED PLOVER Sandhill Lake Malaher Lake Tha-anne River Boulder Lake No. Estimated Area of bush No. seen Collected no. per sq. mi. of land. ... 80% 10 3 1.5 ... 20% 14 10. ... 20% 15 20. 2) D9 8 8. .. 6% 5 6. Hudsonian Curlew. Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus Latham — (Table 5). — This species was seen not on the grass marshes, but on fairly dry tundra and low, often boulder-covered hillsides. All birds were in pairs, and probably nesting. A nest was found at Boundary Lake with two downy young and a pipped egg. These were collected together with their parents. At Boundary Lake, 2 curlews attempted and oc- casionally succeeded in settling on trees for short periods. They were very agitated owing to my proximity to their nest. TABLE 5.—POPULATIONS OF HUDSONIAN CURLEW Malaher Lake ie mum terteraes Satie Boundary Lake Tha-anne River Spotted Sandpiper. Actitis macularia (Linnaeus).—(Table 6.)— Spotted sandpipers are seldom to be seen away from a lake shore, and the long, alder- Area of bush No. seen No. Estimated Collected no. p. sq. mi. land. cabs 20% 6 2, 1 pai 4% 8° 2° 4° ees 20% 6 2 Lake, and 1 was collected. Forty-six were seen at Sandhill Lake and 6 were collected. They were mostly in two’s, but not necessa- 8) Excluding downy young. 14 THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST {[Vol. 62 TABLE 6.—POPULATIONS OF SPOTTED SANDPIPER Big Sand Lake Neck Lake Sandhill Lake covered point on which we camped at Big Sand Lake was a particularly favourable place for them. The estimate of the square mile population takes these facts into con- sideration, and is for the surrounding coun- try as a whole. It is here necessarily a very rough estimate. A few spotted sandpipers presumably breed at Sandhill Lake, but none that I saw gave evidence of having nests. They were usually seen on the sandy beaches. Lesser Yellow-legs. Totanus flavipes (Gmelin).—Two lesser yel- low-legs flew over our camp at Big Sand rily paired, as in one case both proved to be males. Groups of 3 and one group of 6 were also seen. At Sandhill Lake they were - usually found near a small pool in the small barren areas or where the trees were thin. They frequently balanced themselves pre- cariously on tree tops. I saw no definite evidence of nesting at Sandhill Lake. At Malaher Lake, I saw 2 pairs which appeared Area of bush No. seen Fo. Estimated Collected no. p. sq. mi. land. eae 100% 20 8 beans 100% 1 1 1 ere 80% 18 i 4, to be nesting close together in a very wet, partly alder-covered marsh. White-rumped Sandpiper. Erolia fuscicollis (Vieillot). — Eight were seen at Big Sand Lake, presumably in migra- tion. One was collected. Least Sandpiper. Erolia minutilla (Vieillot). — (Table 7.) — A few small groups (3-5) were seen at Ma- laher, Boundary and Boulder lakes, but no larger flocks. A large proportion were coun- ted at Boundary and Boulder lakes’ while performing their flight song. A nest with 4 eggs which would hatch in about 4 days was found at Malaher Lake on July 12, and least sandpipers were undoubtedly nesting at Boundary and Boulder lakes and the Tha- anne River. It probably nests at all places where it was recorded, though definite evid- ence was not always obtained. At Sandhill Lake least sandpipers were seen only in the vicinity of the sand beaches which bordered big lakes. TABLE 7.—POPULATIONS OF LEAST SANDPIPER No. Estimated Area of bush No. seen Collected no. p. sq. mi. land. Bic Sandie Lakey. ost. bates tien ee 100% 8 1 4 Sand hillttialket sels Ae tee es ce 80% 34 4 8 Malahern Heakeyyi..t ese ee re ee Ne 20% 21 1 15 Boundary ssakew ee Pree cee reet sect ecece «ook 4% 30 80 ThAsaANMeys HAV CT se heb ale waco eres ee rete 20% 25 40 Boulder Wake. cc ec oeeese eens 5% 53 70 South Henike lake 08-8. oes. Be 6% 10 13 Campa kee eee ee ee ete enn serine ees Barren 5 1 4 Gariigal ale ete oP Socen on sist Ge enue cn ae taa cess Se eae i 5 4 Red-backed Sandpiper. Erolia alpina pacifica (Coues) — Nine sin- gle birds were seen in the grassy marshes at Camp Lake. They gave no indication of hav- ing nests, and the four specimens collected were all males. A single bird seen at Carr Lake was thought to be of this species. Stilt ©andpiper. Micropalama himantopus (Bonaparte) — Fif- teen adult stilt sandpipers were seen at Boundary Lake. About half of these were ~ alone and might have been nesting. The re- mainder were in 2 small flocks. A male and a female with the 4 day-old young of the latter were collected on July 13. A_ single male was seen and collected at Boulder Lake. January-February, 1948] [HE CANADIAN Semipalmated Sandpiper. Ereunetes pusillus (Linnaeus). — Every opportunity was taken to examine small sandpipers closely and to distinguish this species from Erolia minutilla but only six adults were identified. One was seen and collected at the Tha-anne River; one with 4 downy young, probably 3 or 4 days old, was seen at Camp Lake, and 4 were seen at Carr Lake. The song of the semipalmated sand- FIELD-NATURALIST 15 pipers is similar to, but distinctly harsher than that of the least sandpiper. Northern Phalarope. Lobipes lobatus (Linnaeus). — (Table 8). — These were mostly seen in flocks of 3 to 6, but I think a few pairs were nesting at our station on the Tha-anne River, near which Porsild (MS) found them very common on July 12, 1930. Porsild also saw northern phalaropes on Yathkyed Lake in August and near Chesterfield about September 15. TABLE ‘'8.—POPULATICNS OF NORTHERN PHALAROPE Estimated no. Area bush No. seen op. sq. mi.. land. IE VOURING ute Vue hed Cy oe ee eee ak rk Ua ns aaa rene 4% 20 30) TRAC ATINNGMCLVICT, tere. Clee a en ee Eaten ee aes 20% 20 20) FOUN GC eIgnallcerreer erty ete tc Nal nce oii ceva cca uae 5% 10 8 (CH TAIGO) 1 LT ECS aed ah enor ere en Le ae eRe Barren 40 10 (CRETE TERE eee oF a ee a eR A ee Nae is 10 4 Parasitic Jaeger. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus).—(Table 9). — One pair at Victory Lake undoubtedly had either young or a nest. The stomachs of two males collected at Victory Lake contain- ed lemmings. All the parasitic jaegers seen were light-phased adult birds. TABLE 9.—POPULATIONS OF PARASITIC JAEGER No. Estimated no. Area bush No. seen Collected op. sq. mi. land. Mehaeannn er EVV: eee vere cerng eee nero 20% 5 1 11.2 RB ATYNTO SN AKC io ig eS ooo eos cote daw ckbacasterens Barren 7 1 0.5 WACO ew AKC ee cous Medan tnncees clea Saass sures obs a 12 2 Mets Wake SNanety-S@VeM oi) ice aieestteeeeecees a 1 0.5 PIWATRIG AKC) dish Snes ovi Su Ce IN es R 1 0.2 Long-tailed Jaeger. Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot.—(Table 10) —The two long-tailed jaegers seen at Tha- anne River were a nesting pair. The sto- -machs of the two males collected at Vic- tory Lake contained the remains of lem- mings. Lemmings were very plentiful at Victory Lake, and this may have been the reason for the concentration of jaegers there. One of the birds seen at Baker Lake wes a juvenile; the remainder were adult. TABLE 10.—POPULATIONS OF LONG-TAILED JAEGER No. Estimated Area bush No. seen Collected no. p. sq. mi. land, MA=ATIN Ce RIV Tasos seees osu eoranecaciee aesee hte sess 20% 2 0.5 Boulder cakes 4.225 voce se hessadeeniscsooss ad 5% 1 02 (Cea a GFE Seam Be ae a eee ee Barren 5 0.3 Carrelialcee rc rater ei teeres ok amen aaa aaa od ze 2 0.2 Wactony “lakers Soe ee fee ac: % 20 2 3.0 BakerrlakerPOStrect. i :cess. socc steers ce 2 0.7 16 THE CANADIAN Herring Gull. Larus argentatus smithsonianus (Coues). — (Table 11). — From the above it can be seen that the herring gull is widely and evenly distributed throughout the region with about one pair to a square mile. Herring gulls are not recorded in my notes for Smoke Lake, Christopher Island or Baker Lake Post, but this may have been an oversight. South of Chesterfield Inlet, there are very few cliffs likely to hold colonies, and it may be presumed that these gulls were nesting TABLE 11.—POPULATIONS OF HERRING GULL FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 on rocks and small islands in lakes. No nests were found, however. Porsild (MS) records that this species was common, and while flying over the country he observed that each fair-sized lake was inhabited by one pair of gulls. He saw only a few nesting colonies. The largest was on a small rock island near the Kazan Falls where there — were upwards of 50 individuals. Every herring gull I saw during the sum- mer was in full adult plumage. The 11 spe- cimens were typical L.a. smithsonianus. No. Estimated Area bush No. seen Collected no. p. sq. mi. land. Betoe SANNA Gs Be eee eee econo 100% 12 1 2. ING CKamIralkC igure cae con eseedaae cnet 100% 12 se Sarrclhallllinwlakey eos esctys tees hf eeotaers. cone 80% 51 3 WA. INTE Sea ea) (oy eee er nc ae cat nee eA 20% 11 1 15 BYORI CG ED Ay | WEISS. ee carence saareBes one encase oneeeceen cc 4% 5 1.5 A PATITIO ME IV GG: tn ee ee ee 20% 13 1 2.5 Bowlderwmitaker et eee 5% 18 2.5 Southbeblemilke Uae necn tetreere cekereer rare 6% 10 2 1.5 Carin Pemeakey ewer se cece eens cca eatin cee eece tars Barren 30 2. (Gaia lta peat cee ere cet ste eas ener eae toe zs Balt 1 2. INI OVetounl BEEN elec eerie etn ee arc Renee etece caeera occcene as 3 0.5 WAC COTY ec ee thes vee ath sees tanec eon eee? ai 12 2 15 akc Niteby-SCVieMy cesses eres ey 6 7A. TDW SUNK Cb eect vonans coc eects cies ede seria useesveeusas eee 23 6 LS Common Tern. Sterno hirundo hirundo Linnaeus.—Six terns seen at Big Sand Lake were thought to be but was collected. Twelve terns seen at Neck Lake were too of this species, none distant for identification. No common terns were identified at Sandhill Lake or any of the stations north of there. TABLE 12.—POPULATIONS OF ARCTIC TERN Arctic Tern. Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan.—(Table 12). —The comparatively large numbers at Tha- anne River may have been due either to the good fishing in the river or more probably the numerous sand bars which would form good nesting sites. No nests were found dur- ing the summer nor did any of the birds behave as if they had nests in the neighbour- hood. No. Estimated Area bush No. seen Collected no p. sq. mi. land. Se Iniienncw.. cine i er 80% 101 4 ao. ae Walahenmeliak@r coe cit eect eee eee cicteees cree 20% 16 4. MRNA ana ey IRUNS1E scocendoucsconspnsecodecsrac ontbecenc cheese 20% 17 8. BOUT AE AKO ey tein re eke ete ee ee 4% 5 es South Henik “take: 2 eo sites nee 6% 1 0.3 Yellow-shafted Flicker. Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus). — Two yellow- shafted flickers were seen in an hour’s walk amongst the spruce forest at Big Sand Lake. Many of the standing dead trees had been drilled. Presumably a more extended search January-February, 1948] THe CaNapIAN FIELD-NATURALIST FIG. 6. Nest of Hudsonian Curlew with two downies and a pipped egg at Boundary Lake on July 15. FIG. 7. Scattered tamaracks growing amongst scrub at Boulder Lake. 17 18 THE CANADIAN would have revealed the presence of this species at Neck Lake. No drilled trees were seen at Sandhill Lake. American Three-toed Woodpecker. Picoides tridactylus bacatus Bangs.— A sin- gle male specimen was seen and collected at Sandhill Lake. It closely resembled other Manitoba specimens in the National Museum. These have rather more white on the back than Ontario birds, but much less than spe- cimens of P.t. fasciatus from Wood Buffalo Park and the Yukon Territory. Hoyt Horned Lark. Eremophila alpestris hoyti (Bishop).—(Table 13).—Horned larks favour dry, gravelly situa- tions, particularly if sheltered by surrounding hills or ridges. These conditions were best met near the hills at South Henik Lake. The high lark population recorded there probably continued near the ridge which runs south- west and into the hills to the north-east toward Carr Lake where conditions were also FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 quite suitable. On the flat sand bordering most of the west side of South Henik Lake, . they would probably be very scarce. There is also very suitable ground for larks among the ridges at Alder Lake, and had the popu- lation estimate been confined to these ridges instead of including the flatter and more open country, it would have been doubled. The country about Boundary and Camp lakes is unsuitable for larks. The first young larks were seen flying at Carr Lake on August 3. They were mostly still accompanied and being fed by their mothers, and IJ think all were local birds. At places north of this, local birds may have been mixed with migrants, but there were no > flocks. At Carr Lake, juveniles accounted for about half the total population given above; at later places, they accounted for almost two- thirds. All the specimens collected are refer- able to the above race, and other birds seen in the field appeared equally light faced. TABLE 13.—POPULATIONS OF HOYT HORNED LARK No. Estimated Area bush No. seen Collected no p. sq. mi. land. INERT Gere Ere (eS eae peceisoe cocco coe sacavensroe ceceeepacccc: 20% iz 5 15 TRY GTR EHP LU ASS Re setae no cecerpe aes eeBone re 5% 4 1 6 Sapien), TSIEN eI DEE eI sarco sont scoecacasecuoscednesccenaséce 6% 15 20 (CRT) TWENEY sala ceried ocebsoot nto censed seca. Secscnopeoscrcodtcs Barren 2 ae (Including juveniles) AS TANG AKC tees tec feos hee meee oo etna Neca aa a 20 3 16 ATG er Mat ee hea ea te atte en aun Seca uraue i 25 3 30 WAI OTA TIER ies nis ot ee sac cbecdeseecboucnesecengeccocee na 5 5 Tiakke MININETY-SCVEN cence cette eee ee eee He 2 8 Hyams Taller. Siete ote adm tend he i LR eects cis Ns 2 4 a 8 2 15 Baker Lake Post Canada Jay. Perisoreus canadensis canadensis (Linnaeus). —Three Canada jays visited our camp at Eyrie Lake. At Sandhill Lake, 15 Canada jays were seen, of which 4 adults and 2 juv- eniles were collected. The 15 recorded were made up of two groups of 4 each and one of 3 (families, I think), and 4 single adult birds. I estimated the population per square mile of land at Sandhill Lake as 3. The two juv- enile specimens closely resembled juvenile P.c. canadensis from Nova Scotia, and are distinctly darker than juvenile P.c. albescens from the Wood Buffalo Park. The plumage of the adults is too worn for _ sub-specific identification. Northern Raven. ; Corvus corax principalis Ridgway. — Three ravens were seen at Sandhill Lake, and 2 at Boulder Lake. One of the latter was collec- ted. It has not been identified subspecifical- ly, but presumably belongs to the northern race C.c. principalis. Eastern Robin. Turdus migratorius migratorius Linnaeus. (Table 14). — At Sandhill Lake, the robins were usually seen in low scrub, or at the edge of the main woods. A low, rocky ridge where the spruce grew sparsely with some birch scrub was a particularly favourite hab- itat. The comparatively dense robin popula- tion in the scrub at South Henik Lake was January-February, 1948] due to the hilly and rocky nature of the country. A few miles away from the hills it would probably have been much reduced. In addition to the numbers. given below which were adults only, 4 juveniles able to THE CANADIAN’ FIELD-NATURALIST 19 fly were seen at the Tha-anne River, 1 at Boulder Lake, and 7 at South Henik Lake. The specimens are referable to T.m. migra- torius. TABLE 14.—POPULATIONS OF EASTERN ROBIN ; No. Estimated Estimated Area bush No. seen Collected no. p. sq. no. p. sq. mi, land mile bush INGCke bake gis Be ee wat 100% 3 2.5 7445) Sana hilebakercc..c.20 ces desceses sect 80% 20 5 4, 4. Malahersuake 55/2 vsccee. Sosa 20% 7 4 ils 8. Tha-anne River ................0.00000- 20% 6 2 3 15. Boulder Wakes 26 ccceec deat 5% 3 3 6. South Henik Lake ..................... 6% 8 10. 100. Grey-cheeked Thrush. Hylocichla minima minima (Lafresnaye). — (Table 15)—At Sandhill Lake, grey-cheeked thrushes were usually seen in the dryer forest, frequently perched on the top of a tall spruce tree; but at Boulder and South Henik lakes, they frequented the tall dwarf willow scrub. All the birds seen were adults. TABLE 15.—POPULATIONS OF GREY-CHEEKED THRUSH At Boulder Lake several were noticed carry- ing grubs, and so presumably had young in nests. The mean flattened wing measure- ments of the rather worn specimens were: for 6 males, 106.0 (101-109) mm.; and for 3 females, 97.7 (95-102) mm.; they are there- fore referable to the larger northern race. (Wallace 1939). No. Estimaied Estimated Area bush No. seen Collected no. p. sq. no. p. sq. mi. land mile bush Sandi limWalcene-see eee ee 80% 25 5 2 14 Malaher leaker: esi pie ik 20% 16 3 10 50 FeVa- an Gael lV Gleam ose eee 20% 3} 3 18 Boulder slake ws. oe ee 5% 31 1 6 130 South Henik Lake 32). 6% 10 30 300 American Pipit. population given above. By the time we Anthus spinoletta rubescens (Tunstall). — (Table 16). — The two pipits seen at Sand- hill Lake were probably casual _ stragglers. On the barren grounds, this species was found wherever there were rocky ridges. On the bare, solid rock tops of the hills at Henik Lake, it was numerous being the only species of bird seen. It was also very plentiful on the few small, isolated, rocky ridges at Camp Lake — in fact, 80 per cent of the pipits counted at Camp Lake were seen in a half hour’s visit to these ridges. The first young pipits were seen at Carr Lake. From then cn, they formed about two-thirds of the pipit ar-ived at Victory Lake, the pipits, like most of the other small birds, were commencing to migrate. Northern Yellow Warbler. Dendroica petechia amnicola Batchelder. — Five yellow warblers were seen amongst the alder at Big Sand Lake.~ One was collected. It was a typically dark-backed northern bird. Myrtle Warbler. Dendroica coronata (Linnaeus).—One myrtle warbler was seen and collected at Neck Lake. At Sandhill Lake, 7 were seen of which 2 were collected. The estimated population at the latter place was 5 per square mile. 20 THE CANADIAN FIELD-NATURALIST [Vol. 62 TABLE 16.—POPULATIONS OF AMERICAN PIPIT No. Estimeted Area bush No. seen Collected no. per sq. mi. land Garidiitlily shaker occas cedees renee ee ree 80% 2 1 0.5 MMalaheruglia cert ters cc oe See ret ce, 20% 5 i am Southey blenilke: Wakes ssn. ssc ote oarienicnce-< 6% 35 60. (CRITE TOY ADEN) aici cctees ceca cence caceee ce scsocoae saeccenes Barren 28 20. (Including juveniles) (CHA SEL. TEEN (2h) ese 2 eee Se a an ae ea a eon a 32 PNSYGVET RAGE eben na 22 18 1 26. Wik CLOT lera CP, 2 eee eee ccncsc vee scasett gn. auaetee: 13 10 14. Take (Nimety-SeVen soi... sccsssecs-sss Se enseecse cee ssee- ae 8 40. Twin Lake fe 2 6 15. Black-poll Warbler. Dendroica striata (Forster).—(Table 17). — This species is not readily seen while the observer is walking through the thick under- growth it frequents, and during the height of the mosquito season, an observer does not stand still long in that habitat. This may account for the apparent absence of black- poll warblers at Malaher Lake. Longer cbservation in the willow and spruce thickets would probably have revealed their presence also at South Henik Lake. TABLE 17.—POPULATIONS OF BLACK-POLL WARBLER Area bush No. Estimated Estimated No. seen Collected no. per sq. no. p. sq. mi. land mi. bush. BigsOande Wake! ace ecestscoere et 100% 3 18 18 ING Clhaniliza Ke pieen ernie ctu pens 100% 8 3 24 24 Sandnilpeake tee nhl sem 80% 151 8 105 105 i Mha-aAnnewRIVET) ce. ssscrececeseee see eee 20% 5 1 9 45 Boulder Waker a ee 5% 16 6 120 Rusty Blackbird. Euphagus carolinus (Miller). — At Sandhill Lake, 8 (one group of 3, the remainder single birds), and at Malaher Lake, 4 single birds were seen. A male and a female were col- lected at Sandhill Lake, and a male at Mala- ker Lake. No rusty blackbirds were seen more than a hundred yards from one of the larger lakes. They appeared to favour the border of alder often found around these lakes. The first rusty blackbird was not seen until July 1, and I do not think there were any at Sandhill Lake until that date. They were probably not nesting. Canadian Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator leucura (Miiller). — Four were seen and collected at Sandhill Lake. Two males were single birds; the other two were together, being a male and a female, both juvenile. The estimated population for a square mile is under 1. The specimens com- pared well with the birds from the vicinity oi Ottawa. The measurements of the two adults males were: wing (chord) 123 and 122 mm.; exposed culmen: 14.5 and 15.0 mm. Hoary Redpoll, Common Redpoll. Acanthis hornemanni exilipes (Coues). — A. flammea flammea (Linnaeus).—(Table 18).— At Sandhill Lake, redpolls were seen close to the lake shore only. At the next four sta- tions, almost all those seen were in patches of tamarack and spruce and occasionally in scrub. At South Henik Lake, they were more widely distributed, and frequently seen in short birch scrub. The first juvenile red- poll was seen at Malaher Lake, and about four (included in the table) were seen at the Tha-anne River, but I think the remainder were adult birds. Porsild (MS) found red- polls common on July 11-12 on the upper January-February, 1948] THE CANADIAN Tha-anne River, but he saw few about Yath- kyed Lake and the lower Kazan River in