. The Canadian field-naturalist. January, 1930] The Canadian Field-Naturalist. Nest of the Blue Goose, Eshuleeungnil Plain, Bowman Bay, Foxe Basin. Jvly Itth, 1929. to feed on a narrow strip of snow-free tundra bordering the Kungovik river. Twenty-four of the birds were Blue Geese and the remainde'*, presumably, Lesser Snow Geese. June 6 marked the beginning of the real migration of geese to the region. Large numbers of birds passed over camp to the north and northwest during the day, the two species—Blue and Snow—always in company. The former constituted approximately one-third of the total n


. The Canadian field-naturalist. January, 1930] The Canadian Field-Naturalist. Nest of the Blue Goose, Eshuleeungnil Plain, Bowman Bay, Foxe Basin. Jvly Itth, 1929. to feed on a narrow strip of snow-free tundra bordering the Kungovik river. Twenty-four of the birds were Blue Geese and the remainde'*, presumably, Lesser Snow Geese. June 6 marked the beginning of the real migration of geese to the region. Large numbers of birds passed over camp to the north and northwest during the day, the two species—Blue and Snow—always in company. The former constituted approximately one-third of the total number observed. The numbers of geese were very considerably in- creased on June 7 when the Blue species was almost as numerous as the Snow. By June 8 and 9 thousands of geese were re- sorting to the bare patches of tundra in the region. As these areas were small and localized, they brought the geese together in large flocks to feed on the scanty vegetation. By a singular piece of good fortune the most extended of these snow- free areas lay along the banks of the Kungovik river, from a point opposite camp for about one and a half miles downstream. This was no more than a marshy strip 10 to 15 feet in width, but geese in very large numbers resorted to it for food and rest. With the powerful glass of the transit theodolite, which was mounted on a slight elevation near camp, unexcelled opportunities for observation were enjoyed daily when the weather permitted. Such gatherings were invariably noisy and the voices of the geese which cover a wide range of expression were to be beard at all hours of the day and night. On June 10 a single fresh egg of either this species, or the Lesser Snow Goose, was found on a bare patch of ground in the uplands of the As- weeto ridge. Obviously this was abortive, as the species was not yet beginning to nest. Sub- sequently, many such eggs (almost invariably punctured and the contents eaten by the Parasitic Jaeger) were discovered, over the feedi


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