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SITE NAME
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Polemond River, Ungava Peninsula, Canada
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 1-609-628-3218 // // New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area, 2201 County Route 631 Woodbine, NJ 08270, USA
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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2002 Canada Goose Nesting Study and Preseason Banding Report From Hudson and Ungava Bay Regions, Quebec
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Winter snow cover across much of the Ungava Peninsula was heavy in 2002 and spring temperatures were exceptionally cold resulting in a slow, late melt and a 2-3 week delay in the timing of nesting.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
high
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Breeding conditions:
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The first nests of Canada Geese were found on 9 June, about 17 days later than normal. A total of 325 nests were eventually found in the 34.5 km2 main study area, resulting in a nest density of 9.4 nests/ km2. The highest recorded density since the study began was in 2001, with a density of 18.5 nests/ km2. Mean nest initiation and hatching dates in 2002 were 16 June and 9 July (range: 3-20 July), respectively. In addition to the main study area, 7 secondary sites were visited, between 16 and 20 June, along a 200-km north-south stretch of coastal lowlands and centred on Puvirnituq. At these sites, a total of 167 nests were found; nest densities were similar to those observed in previous years, but lower than in 2001. Mean clutch sizes for the main study area (3.0) and at the secondary sites (3.2) were the lowest recorded since the study began in 1997; the 1997-2001 averages were 4.7 and 4.2 for the main and secondary sites, respectively. Nesting success (Mayfield) for the main study area was 55%, below the 1997-2001 average of 67%. Predation (44%) and nest abandonment (1.5%) together accounted for all nest losses. Nesting success varied considerably among the secondary sites, with the highest success recorded on the two northernmost sites. Preliminary analyses of the nesting data show apparent nest success for each site (north to south) as follows: Korak River (n=24 nests), 83%; Sorehead River (n=34), 76%; Puvirnituq Lake (n=19), 61%; Small River (n-25), 54%; Kogaluk River (n=23), 65%; and Mariet River (n=16), 50%. Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Long-tailed Skua, and Arctic Skua were the principal egg-predators.
The wide variation among capture sites in the age of goslings captured as well as in plumage development indicate that hatching occurred over a longer period of time and later than in the main nesting study area.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| For the first time since this project began, there was an abundance of small mammals on the study area. Trapping took place between 23 July and 4 August, during which time 32 small mammals, primarily Ungava Lemming, were caught. This number was four times the previous yearly high of 8 caught in 1998. This phenomenon may help explain the lower than expected nest predation by arctic foxes on the study area where we found three active den sites (as compared to one or two dens in other years).
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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