KWFN Home Page

Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists

conserving our natural heritage through education and involvement

Baillie Birdathon

Neil Taylor is still seeking sponsors and collecting pledges. Please see him at the next 2 meetings.

Bird Studies Canada (BSC) is encouraging sponsors to support his efforts over the internet by credit card. His personal link is:

http://www.bsc-eoc.org/support/birdathon/donate.jsp?number=17129

Should you elect to use the online option, please respond to him by email and he would be pleased to provide you with your personal ID # that BSC has provided to him and which would help BSC. Neil E. Taylor However, it also seems that you may submit pledges without that ID #.

If you elect to pay him directly by cash or cheque, he will be happy to receive your pledge at future KWFN meetings or by mail. Cheques should be made payable to Bird Studies Canada. Receipts are mailed twice a year in September and January for amounts of $10.00 or more. He is hoping to raise at least $1000.00 this year.

The Burrell family is doing likewise.

May 26^th, Annual General Meeting 7:00 p.m.

Programme: Green is NOT a Colour

Terri Meyer Boake, researcher and professor from the University Of Waterloo School Of Architecture will deliver a talk that looks at over 10 years in the development of sustainable building in Canada. We have come from the early endeavors where "green" buildings tended to be peculiar and somewhat experimental in nature, and have reached a point where they are beginning to be a regular (and very necessary) part of mainstream architecture. Terry will present some ideas on how sustainable design is able to be achieved in a wide range of buildings.

Fiona Reid, author/artist of the Peterson Field Guide to Mammals and recent guest speaker with the KWFN is hosting an open house and wildflower walk at her home on the Niagara Escarpment.

Date: May 10^th

Time: 2-5pm

Details: There will be a woods and wildflower walk, studio and art tour and opportunities to view and purchase some artwork

For more Info: R.S.V.P fionar@globalserve.net or call (905) 693-9719.

Thank you for leading the world in Earth Hour!

Earth Hour was a huge success, with early reports indicating that at least 50 million people participated in this global call to action on climate change! This makes it the largest voluntary power-down event in history. And it was Canada that led the way, with over 150 cities and towns turning off their lights. Thank you Canada!

In Toronto, Canada's flagship Earth Hour city, energy consumption dropped by 8.7 per cent and almost 10,000 people gathered at City Hall to watch Nelly Furtado, The Philosopher Kings and Fefe Dobson play a free concert in the dark. In all of Ontario, 900 MW of energy was saved, the equivalent of taking over 11,000 cars off the road for one hour.

There were celebrations all across the country and results are still pouring in. In British Columbia, energy consumption was reduced by 125 MW. The energy saved in Ontario and British Columbia alone is equivalent to turning off 20.5 million lights.

Thanks to everyone here in Canada and around the world that participated in the first ever, worldwide Earth Hour! Your efforts and determination have made this an event to remember and you have sent a very strong message to our government, and governments around the world, that we need to take action on climate change now.

Don't stop at Earth Hour - make every hour Earth Hour!

Now the big question is, "what's next?" You have taken the first step by turning out your lights for Earth Hour. Now it's time to take it a step further - by joining The Good Life.

Make every hour Earth Hour. Join WWF-Canada's online community, The Good Life to learn how to live a life high in quality, and low in ecological footprint.

Climate change is the single biggest environmental threat facing our world today. The good news is that we can all make a difference by choosing to live The Good Life

WWF-Canada's new interactive site, The Good Life guides you to take action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions created through your daily activities. Making changes, such as washing in cold water, switching to green power or taking public transit can make a big difference.

Very Special Announcement!! Threatened Species Discovered in Hidden Valley

At a May 29^th E.E.A.C. Meeting, Region of Waterloo, it was announced that a threatened species was found in HiddenValley. One may easily conclude that it was Jefferson Salamander, since it was a salamander recovery team that carried on the study this spring at the urgent request of Neil E. Taylor. An earlier incomplete and inaccurate inventory suggested that the Environmental Assessment (2004) for the Bleams Rd./River Rd extensions was itself to be questioned. Now, the problem is that the MNR has not seen fit to stop the Bleams Rd./River Rd. Extensions with the attendant bridge and future developments which will lead to a degradation of the 3 Provincially Significant Wetlands in the area and thus pose a threat to a species that has existed since ice age times. New! - Hidden Valley Action

Monthly meetings are held at Wing404 /Rotary Centre, Dutton Drive,Waterloo. See link to map on hot linked Directions.

Directions: located at the last driveway on the right of Dutton Drive, a short street that runs off the north side of Weber Street between Northfield Drive and Albert Street in Waterloo. See Map.

Synopsis of past KWFN programmes - prepared by Michael Frind

Membership Form. Print out form and remit by mail.

See Conservation Link for current issues and letters and information submitted by the KWFN.

Friends of Hidden Valley

KWFN OUTINGS 2008 - Submitted by Dave Buhlman

Outing to Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG)

Hamilton

Saturday 10^th May 2008

Dave Buhlman 519.893.2833

Come and take a stroll along the North-shore Trails of the Royal Botanical Gardens on the edge of Coote’s Paradise along with Elaine Serena of the Hamilton Field Naturalists who is very familiar with birding in the area.

We’ll look for early spring flowers and migrant and resident birds which should be in abundance at this time of year. We will then enjoy our picnic lunches at the top of the lilac dell, where some of the earlier varieties may already be in bloom. On your way home you might also like to admire the fabulous display of tulips in the nearby Rock Garden. Your entrance fee to RBG (Adult $6, Senior/Student $4, Child $2) will cover both areas.

Don’t forget to bring your binoculars and scope, and a picnic lunch. This will be an all day event. We will be returning to Kitchener mid to late afternoon. We will meet at the south end of Kitchener and carpool to and from the RBG.

Meeting Time/Place

9:00 AM

Home Depot Parking Lot

100 Gateway Park Drive

Kitchener

Tuesday May 13^th

Health Valley Trail

Helga Hartman (519-885-0661)

Join Helga again to revisit the Health Valley Trail which we had done last fall. This is an excellent place to see many birds and enjoy the outdoors by the Conestoga River. Helga will take the group on a relaxed walk along the Health Valley Trail which is part of the Trans Canada Trail. It follows the river but also crosses open pasture and a variety of habitat. On the walk we should see a great variety of birds in their migratory passage as well as those who make their summer home here. Bring along good hiking boots, water, binoculars and your field guides. We will be on the trail for about 2 to 3 hours.

Meeting Place/Time

9:30 AM at the Riverworks parking lot in St. Jacobs. Go to the back end of the parking lot where the signs indicate parking for buses and campers

Thursday May 15^th

Gord Cassidy (519.884.3663)

Dryden Tract

Join Gord as he leads this morning hike in the Dryden Tract. This area

boasts a wide variety of birds, trees, plants and wildflowers. The spring growth should be well started by this time and the buds should be on the trees if not starting to sprout. Bring your binoculars and wear sturdy footwear as this area is quite hilly in spots. A break at the outlook is planned which gives us a good view of the surrounding area.

Meeting Time/Place

9:00am at the 401 carpool parking lot

Homer Watson/Fountain St. and 401

Birding the Bruce Peninsula

May 17,18, 19 (various times and locations, see below)

This will be a bit of a different kind of outing, in that it does not originate in the K-W area. Instead, I will be meeting you at various locations up on the Bruce each day, and starting the outings from there. Some degree of advance planning is required, since the upper Bruce is far enough away that you’ll probably want to stay over (Bruce Peninsula N. P. is convenient for camping, and if you want to rent a cottage or other type of room, Tobermory will be close enough). That’s why I wanted to give you all a “heads up” about this outing as early in the season as possible.

I will be preparing an information sheet, with maps showing the directions to rendezvous points, meeting times, and a short synopsis of each trip. For this reason, participants will have to “register”, in a sense, beforehand – but don’t let that scare you off! All I will need is a name and address for everybody who wants to participate, so that I can forward this information sheet – either e-mail or surface addresses will do. I promise to get this ready by the end of April at the latest. To register, just send me a message (contact info below), and I will reply with the info. sheet. It would helpful if you would let me know if you’re planning to attend on one, two or all three days. (I’m sorry I can’t tell you the details of the outings yet, but that’s because I don’t know myself! One thing I can say at this point is that the first outing will be Saturday after lunch – I don’t want to fight the Friday night traffic on the weekend, and I don’t expect anyone else to! In the same vein, the Monday outing will be starting really early, but will end before lunch, so everyone can get a good head start on the way home.)

I hope you’ll join me for a guided bird-watching weekend on the wonderful Bruce! Whether you’re just getting started, or you’ve been doing this for years, there is plenty to see up there.

Peter Coo

pcoo@sympatico.ca

Or call (519) 894-6157

May 22nd KNAP Kitchener's Natural Areas Program - A Walk in Breithaupt Park

David Hunsburger & Fraser Gibson

Fraser Gibson 519 576-9287

David Hunsberger 519 886-5588

A walk in the woods on a spring evening is an opportunity to enjoy the resurgence of nature. Spring ephemerals such as hepatica, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Solomon's seal, trillium and bellwort will have emerged on the forest floor, and leaves of red oak, sugar maple, beech, butternut, and other species of deciduous trees, will be forming a green canopy above.

Small mammals and intriguing insects will be active, and hopefully we will once again see the Cooper's hawk which has resided in the park for many years. We will also look at the area where KWFN members have planted trees, and observe the success of our efforts.

Meeting Time/Place

7:30 p.m. Breithaupt Park

at the parking lot north of Union St.

Saturday May 24th

Derek Hitchens (519.886.7374)

Hilton Falls Conservation Area (Campbellville)

Exploring the enchanted forests of Hilton Falls is a natural treat with great hiking, birding, plant life and wildlife. This is a World Biosphere Reserve as part of Niagara Escarpment. The viewing station at the falls lets you drink in the beauty of a 10 metre waterfall that cascades over the Niagara Escarpment and the mysterious mill ruins that surround it. This is a large forest complex with rich habitats for diverse range of plants and animals and birds. Bring your lunch as well as you binoculars and field guides and enjoy a full day with Derek as he leads us around this area which is off Guelph Line road. If you want only the morning you can leave when you want. We will meet and car pool to save the environment. There is a $5.50 entry charge for the park.

Meeting Time/Place

9:00am at the 401 carpool parking lot

Homer Watson/Fountain St. and 401

A New Web Site

TIMISKAMING BIRDS

visitors since February 15, 1997

Sightings in Nature for the Region

are located at the bottom this page.

Guelph/Cambridge/KW Birding

Kitchener- Waterloo Sightings

Cambridge Sightings
This forum is for sharing information regarding birding and wildlife "spotting" in the Guelph, Wellington, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Cambridge areas of Ontario. This forum is quite extensive and should prove valuable with regular reports. This webmaster encourages you to check it out.

KW Bird Sightings

Wanted!
Please report sightings of turtle road fatalities or knowledge of any areas where there seems to be a lot of turtles crossing roads. Please contact Angie Schoen so she may build a data base of these areas. She will use this information to approach the different municipalities about placing turtle crossing signs. Any help would be appreciated.
Turtle Haven
1-519-745-4334
uros@sympatico.ca

Please note: Dr. Chris Murfin from the Kingsdale Animal Hospital has offered to provide medical attention to injured native turtles at no cost to people that bring them in.

Angie is also looking for any conservation group(s) that are working with the Karner Blue Butterfly.

The KWFN Photo Salon features the efforts and talents of local photographers. Photos should not be larger than 4 x 6(H) or 6 x 4(V). Images to be saved at 72ppi resolution and as a jpeg file with low resolution. At this point, I will limit submissions to one photograph per person which may be replaced upon request.

See the Twelve Spotted Skimmer, photographed by Thelma Beaubien, which won
First Place in the Fauna category of the FON's Seasons 38th (2003) Annual Nature Photo Contest.

Make a difference to the world by clicking on each of the following logos:


KWFN Board of Directors Christmas Bird Counts Conservation Environment Links in Area Monthly Meetings Outings Plant Study Services "The Heron" Web Page Awards Young Naturalists	Web Pages Bird Links - 1000s of links Bird Species (100s of links) Sightings in Area Information found on the Internet Links in Nature Public Service Announcements Waterloo Region Bird Checklist Birding Listservs Internet Bird Migration Sites Web page for list fans Weather and Radar Links Lifespans of Birds
Features - Web Sites found by or suggested to the KWFN Webmaster	Cambridge Weather Kitchener-Waterloo Weather
Carden Plain IBA	The Hummingbird Migration Map
KWFN Young Naturalists	Plant Study Group
Nature Conservancy Canada	KWFN Web Page Awards
Bird Species	Christmas Bird Count Page
Waterloo Stewardship Network Ontario Stewardship Stewardship Canada	Bald Eagles: Please report any Bald Eagles seen on and using the Grand River watershed as wintering areas. See details
Wanted Alive Majestic Sugar Maples! See details.	RARE - Cruickston Charitable Research Reserve - a vision for conservation and education
Second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001 -2005	Canadian Peregrine Foundation
Grand Valley Trails Association	Journey North
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS NETWORK: Your link to environmental education and awareness	ONTBIRDS A great source for news re. sightings of birds in specific locations and dates in Ontario.
Ontario Nest Records Scheme	Bird Nesting Boxes
Nocturnal Owl Survey	Barn Owl Recovery Plan Ontario
Presqu'ile Provincial Park	Friends of MacGregor Point Park
Ontario Road Reports
Eccospheric Ethics	The Grand Valley Wild Bird Company

Directions to Hawk Cliff

From east 401, take the Highbury south cut off at London, follow Highbury south to St. Thomas.Highbury changes into South Edgeware at a large curve in the road to the west. Follow South Edgeware west to the first set of traffic lights - Burwell Road, turn left (south) and stay on this road. It becomes Fairview Ave, which runs directly into Hawk Cliff Road. You will see a sign for Hawks Cliff Farm, selling fresh vegetables and a gravel road just beyond sign, just continue down gravel road to viewing area.

From west 401, take the Highway # 4 (Colonel Talbot Rd.) exit south, through Talbotville (road now is Sunset Rd).Continue towards St. Thomas; you will come to a veer in the road, straight up to St. Thomas, veer to the right for Port Stanley, follow #4, now Sunset to Port Stanley. As you approach Port Stanley you will come to a bend in the road with a sign saying East St, to the left. Take East St., and follow it to the first road left, (opposite Port Stanley Water Tower) Dexter Line, follow Dexter Line approximately 2 km. and turn right down gravel road at Hawks Cliff Farm, and follow gravel road to viewing area.

KWFN Postal address:

317 Highland Road East

Kitchener, Ontario
N2M 3W6
CANADA

This site is provided free through the kindness and generosity of Sentex Internet Services.

Web Master: Neil E. Taylor

***Sightings_in_Nature_for_the__Region***

To add your sighting, click on Add Your Event. Please post the Sighting as the title for your event. The date should show month and date in 2 numbers, i.e., 03/17/2007. Please also post location and your name. Thanks.