Hazelton Region

The region about Hazelton is well populated with small land
birds but lacks waterfowl habitat, as is attested by H. S Swarth's
paper (Birds and Mammals of the Skeena River Region, Univ. of
Calif., Pub. in Zoology, Vol. 24, No. 3, 1924). One section visi—
ted, on the Indian Reserve at the confluence of the Bulkley and
Skeena Rivers, seemed particularly attractive to small land birds.
This was a portion of the river-flat where wild cherry, black
hawthorn and tall willows provided cover. Here an July 25 were
identified olive-backed thrush, yellow warbler, Macgillivray
warbler, redstart, western tanager, white-crowned sparrow, Oregon
junco and song sparrow.

A triangle of low-lying land between the rivers is remarkable
for the height and girth of the cottonwoods that grow there.
These woods also contained many land birds. Along the river shore
crows and a herring gull were attracted by a salmon carcass, and
spotted sandpipers were seen.

There are several small lakes in the Skeena River valley
said to be of similar character. Of these, the largest, Seeley
Lake, was visited on July 24.

Seeley Lake: 1/2 mile long, 1/8 to 1/4 mile wide, is situated about
three and one-half miles south of the confluence of the Skeena and
Bulkley Rivers, and is tributary to the first. It is shadowed by
the vast bulk of Rocher Deboule Mountain, and is fed by mountain
streams. The water is shallow but cold and contains a population

of cut-throat trout. The bottom is chiefly marl but along shore

are marshes of round-stem bulrush and cattail. Most of the sub-
merged vegetation, that includes water buttercup, water milfoil,
Sago pondweed, Potamogston gramineus and P. richardsonii, grows

close to these marshes. There also are beds of yellow pond lily
and patches of bur-reed. Amphipods Gammarus limmaeus are plentiful;
a clam and several caddis larvae were collected, and it was observed
that damselflies were more common here than about the lakes in the
Bulkley Valley.

Waterfowl observed on July 24 consisted of loon, 1 pair; mal-
lard, 1 male; ring-necked duck, 1 young about half-grown; Barrow
golden-eye, brood of 9; hooded merganser, 2.

It may be of interest to note that the records of herring gull,

ring-necked duck, Barrow golden-eye, and hooded merganser consti-
tute additions to the list of species observed by H. S. Swarth.

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