Kingston Field Naturalists

November 2018

Change of Venue

The room we have been meeting in for many years is now closed for

renovations.

FROM OCTOBER TO APRIL we will meet at ONGWANADA RESOURCE

CENTRE. Ongwanada is located off Portsmouth Avenue, north of

King Street West and south of Johnson Street. Ongwanada has lots

of free parking, and is wheelchair accessible.

Kingston Field Naturalists

November 2018

KFN A registered charitable

organization and a member of Ontario Nature

Box 831 Kingston, Ontario

K7L 4X6

KFN Website

and links to other sites: http//www.

kingstonfieldnaturalists.org

Blog: http//www. kingstonfieldnaturalists.

blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

Kingstonfieldnaturalists

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/phot

os/90930627@N06

Membership Inquiries: John Critchley 613-634-5475

johnecritchley at bell.net

Meetings are held at 7:30 pm on the third Thursday of each month from

September to April Social begins at 7:00 pm.

See VENUE CHANGE page for location information.

Thursday 18 October Val Deziel will present

Tallgrass Awakening: Conservation and Habitat Restoration

in the Rice Lake Plains Val Deziel, is Nature Conservancy of Canada's Coordinator of Conservation

Biology for the Rice Lake Plains. She is a long-time resident of Northumberland

County and a graduate of Sir Sanford Fleming College's ecological restoration

program.

The sandy hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine in Northumberland County were

once cloaked in tallgrass prairie, black oak savannah and other open habitats over

large areas. Now such habitats are globally rare and groups like the NCC are

committed to protecting what remains and restoring tallgrass communities to

areas degraded by invasive species, unsuccessful farming and lack of fire. Val has

been directly involved in the Rice Lake Plains for over a decade, and will share

with you some of the great success stories, as well as some of the challenges.

Thursday 15 November Dawn Bazely will present

What is habitat recovery and how should we measure it in Ontario?

Dawn Bazely is a Professor in the Biology Department, York University, and

former director of York’s Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability

(IRIS). While leading IRIS, Dawn led and collaborated on interdisciplinary

research in the science-policy-politics nexus with colleagues from political science,

business, law, health, history, ethics and education. Dawn was singled out by the

Globe and Mail as York University's "Hotshot Professor" in their 2014 Universities

Report. In 2017, she received York University’s Sustainability Leadership Award.

Habitat restoration, in one form or another, has been going on for centuries.

Ecological Restoration is a great field for encouraging citizen science participation.

But, how do we know if our restoration efforts are a success, and whether we are

actually doing more harm than good? Dawn will tackle questions such as: is it

possible to eradicate an invasive species? She will be talking about oak savanna

restoration in Ontario -- both her and other's research into what needs to be done

and the research that assesses how successful the restoration efforts are.

Book Sale Books left over from the May silent book auction will be available for

sale during the social (7 - 7:30) before the fall meetings. Prices will be "pay what

you will". Please bring toonies and small bills!

PLEASE NOTE The room we have rented in previous years is

being renovated. From October until April, we will be

meeting at Ongwanada. See VENUE CHANGE

You won't find "bots"

in any field guide,

but they are an

invasive species. Our

latest harm reduction

effort involves

replacing all @

symbols in email

addresses with "at".

We hope this helps.

TICKS are about. Take precautions!

RAMBLES are slow walks to notice nature in all its forms. Contact Anne Robertson for more

information (613-389-6742 or n8ture.anne at sympatico.ca)

Tuesday 16 October 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Property of Tessa Clarke, Kingston Mills

Meet car pool lot Hwy 401 and Hwy 15. Bring a drink and a snack.

Tuesday 6 November 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Property of Janet Burgess, Middle Road

Meet car pool lot Hwy 401 and Hwy 15. Bring a drink and a snack.

Tuesday 20 November 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Invista shoreline

Meet south end of Sunnyacres Road (by water treatment plant). Tuesday 4 December 9:00 am to noon Collins Creek.

Meet N side of Taylor Kidd and west of Collins Bay Road and Collins Creek. Optional Tim Hortons lunch in

Collins Bay.

FIELD TRIPS AND OTHER EXCURSIONS

Sunday 14 October 8:30 am to noon Cataraqui River and Kingston Inner Harbour

Leader: Ken Robinson (613-766-4782 or ken.robinson546 at gmail.com) Meet Ken at the Tim

Hortons on Highway 15, south of Hwy 401 at 8:30 am. Explore the area around the Cataraqui

River looking for migrating raptors, waterfowl, and song bird species. Finish around noon.

Sunday 28 October 7:45 am to noon Wolfe Island

Leader: Mark D. Read (613-217-1246 markdread at gmail.com) Meet at 7:45 am to catch the

8:00 am ferry to Wolfe Island. Car-pooling is encouraged. We’ll travel the roads, looking for

raptors, waterfowl, owls, and resident birds, stopping off to check Reed’s Bay, Button Bay, and

Horne’s Ferry. Time permitting we will have a short walk in Big Sandy Bay.

Friday 2 November noon to Sunday 4 November noon Fall Round Up

There will be three field trips as part of the Round Up:

Saturday 3 November Amherst Island

Saturday 3 November Wolfe Island

Sunday 4 November Lennox Generating Station

See page 4 for details

Sunday 18 November 8:30 am to 1:00 pm Kingston Mills Lock to Chaffey’s Lock

Leader: Erwin Batalla (simbat at bell.net 613-389-0144) We’ll visit several lock stations looking

for ducks, swans and other water birds. Also possible are lingering birds like Belted Kingfisher,

sparrows, winter finches and there is a good chance for Bald Eagle. Meet at carpool lot at Hwy 401

and Montreal St/Battersea Road at 9:00 am. Bring warm gear. We will finish with optional lunch at

the Opinicon Pub.

Saturday 24 November 10 am to 11:30 am “Winter Birds 101” Sydenham Public Library

The Friends of Frontenac Park invite you to meet our local winter birds! Learn to identify different

species by sight, sound, and behaviour, and get tips for distinguishing between similar species.

Gather ideas for attracting birds to your yard, and find out how you can help birds through Citizen

Science. This free family-friendly workshop runs from 10-11:30 am at the Sydenham Branch of the

Kingston Frontenac Public Library. Drop-ins are welcome, but registration is recommended:

Contact Frontenac Provincial Park at 613-376-3489.

Saturday 15 December Christmas Bird Counts details next newsletter

JUNIORS

MEETINGS

at McArthur Hall Rooms A313 and A317 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm.

Thursday 25 October FUN WITH FISH

Thursday 8 November EYES

Thursday 22 November SCAVENGERS

SUMMER PROJECTS Projects completed over the summer are due 25 October.

T SHIRTS and zip sweats may be ordered at meetings until 25 October.

FIELD TRIPS

Saturday 27 October 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Camden East Alvar

Theme: Naturalists Notice Nature This trip is to the Nature Conservancy of Canada

property that we helped to purchase with our coin collection last January. Meet

McArthur 9:00 am; return 2:00 pm. Bring lunch and a drink. Wear suitable

clothing. Please sign up by Thursday 25 October so sufficient transportation

and hand-outs may be prepared.

Saturday 24 November 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Milburn Creek property of NCC

(Nature Conservancy Canada). Wear good boots and windproof clothing. Hat and

gloves advised. Bring snack, drink and lunch (with something warm in a small

thermos) in a small backpack. PLEASE sign up by Thursday 22 November so transportation can be arranged. If you would like to volunteer as a driver please let

us know. Where required by law a car seat must be supplied.

TEENS Details of Teen meetings are sent to members about a week before the trip. Your

response at that time is appreciated so transportation can be organised and other

arrangements made.

Saturday 10 November 9:00 am to 3:00 pm QUBS Herbarium and

hike. Dress warmly (windproof all over, hat, gloves good boots). Bring lunch (something warm in a thermos) and a drink. Bring field notebook

and pencil. PLEASE let Anne know if you can come or not by Thursday 8

November.

Saturday 15 December 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Christmas Bird Count

Frontenac Christmas Bird Count survey to seek out, observe, and count

birds as part of North America’s longest-running Citizen Science project.

Carpool to the 9 am Winter Birds 101 workshop in Sydenham, then join a

survey team to census areas leading to Frontenac Provincial Park, including

KFN’s own Helen Quilliam Sanctuary. Have lunch and warm up at the park

office, then assist with Christmas Bird Count for Kids activities or co-lead

CBC surveying in the park. Return to Kingston by 5 pm, although all CBC

participants are invited to attend the evening dinner and social (4:30 pm to

7:00 pm). Dress warmly, and bring binoculars if you have them.

Snowshoes will be provided by Frontenac Park, if needed.

Saturday 12 January 9 am to 1:30 pm Bird identification

workshop.

[Under “Teens”]

Club News and Updates

We welcome new members Allan Park and Jane McDonald, and Rita and Dan Schulze.

In Memoriam

Hugh Evans, a long-time KFN member, passed away 12 September 2018. Hugh was an

active birder, and a past-president of KFN. A celebration of life event is planned for

Tuesday 23 October. If you have any photos or memorabilia that could be shown at the

event, or for more details, please contact Tony Noble at noblet at queensu.ca

The Kingston Field Naturalists has signed the Ontario Nature Protected Places

Declaration. Individuals can also send this message which asks the governments of

Ontario and Canada to meet the commitment to protect at least 17 percent of lands and

inland waters by 2020. You can join this campaign at: https://protected-

places.good.do/OntarioNature/declaration/

The Blue Bill, the quarterly journal of the Kingston Field Naturalists, is seeking potential

authors who can contribute their experience or expertise on a one-time or continuing basis.

If you would like to be a contributor, please contact Peter Waycik (editor at thebluebill.ca).

Book reviewers are also welcome.

Motion re Donation to Nature Conservancy of Canada

Camden East Alvar At the urging of the Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council,

Loyalist Township has agreed to donate 110 acres of land in the Napanee Plain to the

Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). The NCC is now seeking $50,000 to cover the costs

of a necessary survey, appraisal, closing the project and to support the long-term

management of the property.

The Hudgins-Rose property is 76 acres of rich alvar, grassland and wetland habitats located within the Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird and Biodiversity Area

(IBA). The area provides stopover habitat for migratory bird and habitat for Blanding's

turtles, Eastern Whip-poor-wills and Monarch Butterflies. A variety of at-risk bat species

are found in the area. The Hudgins-Rose property is adjacent to Ostrander Point Crown

Land and just west of Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area. NCC is seeking $129,000

to purchase and protect this property. For more information, see

http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/ontario/featured-projects/hudgins-

rose-property.html

At the 18 October general meeting our speaker will be Val Deziel from NCC. She will provide more information about these initiatives, and answer any questions. The KFN executive will recommend that the membership make a donation from the Habitat Preservation Fund of $5,000 for purchase of the Hudgins-Rose property and $2,000 for stewardship of the Camden East Alvar. This motion will be voted on by the membership

at the 15 November general meeting.

Our 53rd Fall Round Up Friday 2 November noon to Sunday 4 November noon

All people interested in birds, including backyard birders, feeder watchers and bird photographers, are

encouraged to participate in this event.

As in Christmas Bird counts, the Round Up will rely heavily on Section Leaders. Each Section Leader

will bird on their own or take interested participants to count birds in their section.

The counting period will be 48 hours from noon on Friday (2 November) to noon on Sunday (4

November).

Birds will be counted only within the KFN Bird Area which is a radial distance of 50 km, centred on

Macdonald Park, Kingston. See the KFN website for more details.

Peter Good (goodcompany at sympatico.ca or 613-378-6605) is the coordinator. Contact him, or Kurt

Hennige (khennige at xplornet.com or 613-876-1804), for more information or to be added to an

established group or become a section leader.

Janis Grant ( janis.grant at icloud.com or 613-548-3668) will be the potluck host. If you are planning

to attend the potluck on Sunday 4 November, please advise Janis by the end of day, Thursday 1

November. The potluck will be held at 346 King Street West in Kingston. Plan to arrive at 5 pm for

supper at 5:30 pm.

All are encouraged to send their sightings as soon as possible to eBird or by email to Mark Read

(markdread at gmail.com) .

Saturday 3 November there will be two IBA Water Fowl Blitzes; participants are needed.

For Amherst Island, we will meet at Janet Scott's house on 350 Third Conc at 8 am. Please contact Janet

Scott (jiscott at kos.net or 613-389-4608) or Bonnie Livingstone (bonnie.livingstone at gmail.com or 613-

389-8516) if you wish to take part.

For Wolfe Island, we will gather in the car park of the Sacred Heart of Mary church in Marysville, for 8:30

am. Please contact Mark Read (markdread at gmail.com or 613-217-1246) for more details.

Sunday 4 November As part of the Round Up, Kurt Hennige and Mike Farrell will lead a field trip to the

Lennox Generating Station wetland west of Bath. Meet for 9 am in the parking lot immediately east of the

telephone island at the main gate of the Lennox Generating Station (Hwy 33 @ County Road 21) where our

leaders will take participants on a walk around this property looking for water fowl and late migrants.

Monday 6 May to Saturday 11 May 2019 Birding Southwest Ontario

A week-long field trip to bird the hotspots of Southwest Ontario, including Point Pelee, Hillman Marsh,

Rondeau PP, and Long Point. We will depart from Kingston on the 6th May. We will spend four nights in

Leamington and one night in Tillsonburg, returning to Kingston late on the 11th. Contact: Anthony Kaduck

(kaduckintransit at googlemail.com).

**Note: If you intend to go you will need to book your accommodation in Leamington now.

Saturday 15 December 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Frontenac Christmas Bird Count (CBC)

Teen and adult birders of all abilities are invited to participate in any of the day’s events; advance

registration is required. The day kicks off at 9 am with a Winter Birds 101 workshop at the Sydenham Branch

of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. Census of the “Frontenac” circle runs from 9 am to 4 pm, but

shorter surveys will run in the afternoon at Frontenac Provincial Park. The day ends with a celebratory

dinner and social, 4:30-7 pm in Sydenham. Contact Carolyn Bonta / Michael Johnson at bonta.johnson at

sympatico.ca or 613-531-4578 for information or to register. The Frontenac CBC is a partnership event with

The Friends of Frontenac Park. Our census area includes part of the Frontenac Forests Important Bird Area,

newly designated in 2017!

Saturday 15 December Frontenac Park CBC & Christmas Bird Count for Kids

A variety of interactive, family-friendly activities will be offered throughout the day – an agenda will be

shared in next month’s newsletter. Children's activities will run from 10 am to 3 pm at the Frontenac

Provincial Park office, and the CBC census of the park trails will begin at 1:30 pm. Free admission. Contact

the park at 613-376-3489 for information. Hosted by The Friends of Frontenac Park.