Thursday 18 April will be our Annual General Meeting Note: Barrie Gilbert is no longer available to speak at our annual meeting, board members will give a presentation instead. We will have a short report of our activities in the past year, a review of the budget, and a vote by the membership on a … Read more
The outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the Kingston region appears to be over for this season. It began around January 31st, when numerous dead geese were reported at Lake Ontario Park and the Elevator Bay area. The Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre also received calls and distressed birds from Collins Bay, Bath, and Belleville. Over … Read more
At the COP15 conference in Montreal in December 2022, 190 countries, including Canada, signed onto an agreement to work together to halt and reverse nature’s ongoing decline in biodiversity. To address this issue at a local level, the City of Montreal invited all cities across the world to declare their intention to contribute to this … Read more
Avian Influenza There have been no reports of large die offs of Canada Geese since the 200+ carcasses found in the Lake Ontario Park – Elevator Bay area at the beginning of February. However, sporadic dead birds have been reported throughout the Kingston region, and are continuing to be reported, so the future is still … Read more
I’m glad to say that I’ve had no more reports of major die-offs like there were at the beginning of the month. However, there continue to be more reports of dead birds than usual. Public Works had 8 geese (in total) last weekend and on Monday in Elevator Bay, and one additional goose Wednesday 28th. … Read more
I’m pleased to say there was good news in the reports I received this week, as the number of dead geese reported had greatly reduced. However, there were more reports of dead crows, and indications that Avian Influenza might be spreading to wildlife. The Public Works Department had reports of six dead geese last week, … Read more
Members of the KFN and other observers were asked to send in information about carcasses they saw over the February 10/11 weekend, to try and ascertain how widespread Avian Flu was in the Kingston region. – They were asked not to approach carcasses closely: the survey was only interested the prevalence or absence of carcasses, … Read more
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 … Read more
From The Blue Bill, Quarterly Bulletin of the Kingston Field Naturalists, Volume 14, No. 2 June 1967, pp. 11-12. By Roland E. Beschel In 1934 professor W. T. MacClement sent a cactus fragment from “scanty soil in crevices of granite rock, Addington County, Ontario” to the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. He did not add … Read more