|
|
|
|
SITE NAME
|
|
Big River region, Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada
|
|
| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| // // Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, #301, 5204-50th Avenue, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, X1A 1E2, Canada
|
|
PROJECT DETAILS |
|
|
|
Start of survey:
|
End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
|
|
|
|
|
WEATHER
CONDITIONS
|
|
|
|
Weather conditions: |
Spring arrived abruptly and two to three weeks late on Banks Island in 2000. Daily temperatures jumped six to seven degrees around 8 June and a fast and complete snowmelt ensued. The strange spring weather settled down into more-or-less "average" weather later in June. Mean monthly temperatures were -11 øC (May), 2.9 øC (June), 6.1 øC (July), and 2.4 øC (August).
Some species of shorebirds were into courtship display on and around 10-12 June (e.g. Baird's Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper). Black-bellied Plover copulation was observed on 15 June. A complete White-rumped Sandpiper clutch was observed on 18 June. By this 20 June most Lapland Longspurs had completed clutches (6 eggs). The late spring seems to have delayed shorebirds and songbirds but did not preclude their nesting.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
|
|
| Date of final loss of
snow: |
|
|
BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
|
| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
|
|
|
Breeding conditions:
|
| Breeding bird phenology: We estimate that goose nesting in the Big River snow goose colony was at least 10 days behind schedule - on 12 June those nests that were initiated had a maximum of 2 eggs. There were also reports from Sachs Harbour of some goose and duck mortality prior to the abrupt onset of snowmelt. There were also reports from local people of goose eggs that were shrunken inside. Breeding success can be evaluated as poor.
|
|
|
Rodent dynamics:
|
|
|
|
Rodent species recorded:
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
of fauna studies: |
|
|
|