by Alexandra Simmons
The idea of a nature club in Kingston was conceived by George Stirrett in March 1949, and the first general meeting of the Kingston Nature Club (now the Kingston Field Naturalists) took place in November of that year. So we are completing our 70th year this fall! Histories of the KFN at 5, 25, 33, 40, 50 and 60 can be found on the new and improved KFN website (kingstonfieldnaturalists.org). This article recounts the KFN’s evolution during the past 10 years.
KFN presidents during this time were Chris Grooms, Janis Grant, Gaye Beckwith (twice), Mark Conboy, Kurt Hennige, Alexandra Simmons and Anthony Kaduck. We lost our Honorary President Faith Avis in February 2010. The next Honorary President was Martin Edwards, former President of KFN, Federation of Ontario Naturalists and Canadian Nature Federation, whose life bird list stood at over 8400 species when he died while birding on the Amazon in February 2012. Since then we have been fortunate to have Ron Weir in this role. During the entire period, 2 key organizational leadership roles were carried out impeccably by Larry McCurdy (Treasurer) and John Critchley (Membership Secretary).
Several KFN members were publicly recognised during these years: in 2010, Cameron Smith was awarded the Ontario Nature W. E. Saunders Natural History Award for being the driving force behind the establishment of Ontario Nature’s Lost Bay Reserve near Gananoque; in 2012 Anne Robertson was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for the contribution to educating Kingston residents of all ages about nature; in 2016 Bud Rowe received the Ontario W. E. Saunders Natural History Award for his outstanding contributions to protecting natural areas in eastern Ontario.
At the time of its formation, the primary interest of club members was bird observation and preservation. During the past 10 years, the KFN’s intense collection of data on local birds continued. Species summaries for each season, a yearly bird summary, Midwinter Waterfowl Inventory for the Kingston Region, up to 10 local Christmas Bird Counts and spring and fall Bird Roundups were initially tallied by Ron Weir and communicated to our members via The Blue Bill. Upon Ron’s relocation in the middle of this period, Mark Conboy briefly took over some of this work. Perhaps it was so onerous that he decided to leave Kingston himself (!), and Mark Read stepped up and continues to this day. Data collection and communication have even increased: a Gananoque CBC was added in 2014, a Frontenac CBC in 2015, and a Moscow CBC revived in 2016 and 2017. Mark Read also posts bird summaries each week to the Ontbirds listserve. Spring and Fall roundups have been reconfigured from a day of competitive birding to more resemble a CBC in order to have a larger number of participants and better coverage.
The KFN continued to participate in bird population monitoring projects, some with partner organisations. Some species of interest were: Chimney Swift, Short-eared and Snowy Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, Purple Martin, Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Red-shouldered Hawk, as well as raptors in general on local islands (hawks, owls, eagles). The Kingston region is a hotspot for some declining species, making these data even more important to their conservation. Its status as an exceptional birding area was recognised by its selection as the location of the Ontario Field Ornithologists 35th Annual Convention in September 2016, at which time the Kingston Area Bird Checklist was updated by the KFN Rare Birds Committee.
Environmental conservation continued to be a priority for the KFN. The KFN Conservation Committee, chaired by Chris Hargreaves, acted as a voice for nature at City Hall by closely following and providing input on issues related to Kingston’s Official Plan, especially those affecting its Environmental Protection Areas. Early in the period covered by this article it started to be recognised that the number and location of windfarms were an important factor in their effect on local bird populations. The KFN Conservation Committee took it upon themselves to better understand the significance of Eastern Lake Ontario for migrating and nesting birds and the potential cumulative effects of existing and proposed onshore and offshore wind turbines. It organised a Bird Migration workshop in March of 2011 and wrote a resolution proposing a moratorium on wind farms near to Important Bird Areas and National and Provincial Parks, which was passed at an Ontario Nature Annual General Meeting. One focus was compiling data relating to grassland birds and bats on Amherst Island, culminating in a presentation to the Environmental Review Tribunal for proposed wind turbines on Amherst Island about turbines potential effect on the bobolink population. Through these activities KFN gained an understanding on the critical nature of the siting of turbines, which it shared with conservation organisations in other locations which could be similarly impacted.
Conservation was also advanced by KFN ownership of two nature reserves, overseen during this period by the Nature Reserves Chair Erwin Batalla. The Helen Quilliam Sanctuary preserves Canadian Shield habitat; human impact was minimised through regular inspection and maintenance, a Managed Forest Tax Incentive Plan was completed, and data on flora and fauna, such as those generated from installation and monitoring of wood duck boxes, were collected. The KFN property on Amherst Island was re-named the Martin Edwards Reserve in 2013. Much of it continued to be managed as short grass to preserve the population of nesting Wilson’s Phalaropes. Changes in the number and type of Purple Martin nest boxes were successful in attracting a large number of these desirable and declining (elsewhere!) aerial insectivores. An exciting expansion of this reserve took place in 2018 when 80 acres of adjacent land were donated to the KFN to form the Sylvester-Gallagher Nature Reserve. KFN also protected property by providing financial help to organisations such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada to acquire land in the Napanee Plan, Frontenac Axis and Eastern Lake Ontario Shoreline.
The future of Nature depends on our youth. KFN has had young naturalist programs for more than 4 decades. In the past 10 years Anne Robertson continued to lead the Kingston Junior and Teen Naturalists. The Juniors participated in indoor programs and outdoor field trips that covered topics from arthropods to astronomy. They learned how to help nature by donating to environmental causes, performing cleanups at nature reserves and participating in nature advocacy; some attended nature camps with a KFN scholarship. The Teen Naturalists took field trips at all seasons, both day and night, recording observations in field notebooks. Some attended leadership camps such as the Ontario Nature Youth Summit and organised local events. These programs inspired young people to better understand nature and many of them will have a positive impact in the future.
Most activities described to this point could be seen as continuations to KFN’s traditional important work to preserve and understand nature. Around the middle of the past decade, it was recognised that the interests of the membership were evolving and expanding. The results can be seen clearly today.
Field trips have always been an important component for KFN members. For a long time this consisted of birding trips to local hotspots, often in search of specific species. In recent years, other types of outings have been offered such as geology field trips and outings to observe butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, or moths. Overnight trips have been revived, initiated by Gaye Beckwith in 2011 with the first of many to Algonquin Park in late April. Excursions to Cayuga Lake (New York), the Lake Ontario shoreline west of Kingston, and southwestern Ontario were focussed on birds, but the multiday trips allowed much more general habitat observation and socialization. Field trips for the public were also expanded, with an annual Family Day public outing to Wolfe Island in search of Snowy Owls and Bald Eagles added to May birding walks for the public at Lemoine Point Conservation Area.
The expanding interest in all aspects of nature by KFN members was reflected in the growing popularity of two programs led by Anne Robertson. Twice a month Anne led Rambles, “slow walks to notice nature,” in all seasons and all types of habitat in the Kingston area. This group of new and experienced naturalists met to observe all flora and fauna, as well as their traces such as fossils and tracks. Annual participation has grown to 60 members and the sharing of information between ramblers has been rewarding for all. A big change in recent years has been the use of photography to aid in identification.
The KFN BioBlitz also turned out to be a perfect match with our members’ interest in all aspects of the natural world. The Bioblitz attempts to list all species on a piece of property in a 24-hour period. In the past 10 years a variety of habitats have been “blitzed:” the Davies property near Morton; Lost Bay Nature Reserve on Gananoque Lake, the east end of Amherst Island, Depot Creek Nature Reserve of the Land Conservancy for Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington, Big Sandy Bay on Wolfe Island, Wintergreen Studios on South Frontenac, Menzel Centennial Provincial Park, Landon Bay at Thousand Islands National Park, our own Helen Quilliam Sanctuary at Otter Lake and the OPG Lennox Generating Station property. Open to the public with guided walks led by subject matter experts, vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish), invertebrates (including insects, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, moths), plants (vascular and non vascular) and fungi were identified and counted so a snapshot of that site on that day was obtained. Two of these sites yielded more than 900 species-can 1000 be far behind?
The KFN saw the growth of several “non-bird” experts in its own ranks. John Poland has become the go-to person on butterflies. He produced an annual summary each year which documented range expansions and first observations of such beauties as American Snout, Red spotted Purple and Variegated Fritillary. John authored a Pictorial Pocket Guide to Butterflies of the Kingston Region in 2009; 3 additional printings have been necessary with over 500 sold.
Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) have also caught people’s attention. Kurt Hennige initially, then Carol Seymour, compiled annual summaries in The Blue Bill of sightings of these “fairies.” Carol educated us with several articles on their identification and reproduction. In 2017, KFN published a Pictorial Guide to Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Kingston Area, authored by Carol Seymour, which, like John’s Butterfly Guide is in great demand.
Other KFN members have not been shy to share their expertise with us through Blue Bill articles, field trips and checklists: Mike Burrell, Gary Ure and Mark Read for Moths; Paul Mackenzie for Orthoptera; Bruce Ripley for Herptiles.
The first step to nature preservation is often species identification. Once a correct “ID” is obtained, citizen science can provide useful data on location and numbers of a species for development of management plans. This is one area where there have been large changes in the last 10 years. A few years ago Gaye Beckwith Mark Read, Mike Burrell and Kurt Hennige began the process of instructing KFN members on the use of eBird, which has since become a treasure trove of data on local bird occurrences. Then the use of several identification apps was introduced through KFN presentations about Bug Guide, eButterfly and iNaturalist. Combined with digital photography, these apps are helping KFN members learn something new every time they go out into the field (or perhaps once back at home with a coffee cup next to the computer). Birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies, herbaceous plants, trees, ferns, mushrooms, are just some of the things we are learning to recognise and document.
From its start 70 years ago, the KFN has been observing, understanding, appreciating and preserving nature in the Kingston area. It is entering its eighth decade with strong leadership and with a membership with a mix of interests and with people with different types and amounts of knowledge who willingly share it. New tools are available for us to better understand and document the natural world. Some of our newest members are the ones who adopt these tools quickly, so I hope to learn from them. Let’s look to an exciting future in which we continue to work together to expand our and others’ knowledge and have a positive impact on our natural environment.