Kitchener-Waterloo Peregrine Falcon Fledge Watch 2022
We have a new coordinator for this year’s fledge watch.
If you are interested in joining the watch, contact Tara Hurley (hurley_tara@hotmail.com).
More details will get posted here when known. The next move is up to the falcons.
Thursday April 8, 2021 – Just finished a 2 hour walkabout at Montgomery. We inspected the area all along the riverbank between the river and our trail, and walked our entire trail as well. No GH seen, but several areas are in need of chainsaw work. Spring beauty, Dutchman’s breeches, skunk cabbage, and bloodroot in bloom. Blue cohosh, trilliums and jack-in-the-pulpit emerging. Some buds in the trout lily and lots of wild leeks. Woodpeckers all over as well. Was a nice morning to be in there before the rain turns parts of it into a mud pit 🙂
Wendy Shaw
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 – Removed 4 GH plants from Montgomery yesterday. Again none on our trail; one larger one was well hidden near a fallen log. Still lots of wildflowers in bloom, and a male and female Red-bellied woodpecker were busy. Swampy areas were fairly dry but I’m sure that will change in the next couple of days!
Wendy Shaw
Tuesday April 20, 2021 – I removed 8 GH plants; seven of them were between the river and the trail closest to the river (not our trail) before you reach signpost 6. I actually did not find any on our trail. The largest plant was past signpost 6, but again closer to the river. All were easy to dig out, and the largest was a bit wider than my shovel–so no large plants.
There were a number of Ruby-crowned Kinglets–fun watching the males flashing their red patches. There was also a Great Horned Owl being mobbed by crows. Got a good look at it when it was resting in the trees, but the crows persisted and eventually it was chased across the river.
In bloom: Wood anemone, Dutchman’s breeches, White trillium, May apple, Blue cohosh, White trout lily, Twinleaf, Yellow and Purple violets, Cut-leaf Toothwort.
Overall a nice walk in the woods with a little work thrown in.
Wendy Shaw
Sunday, May 2, 2021 – Donna and I spent some time in “Montgomery” this afternoon. We removed 8 GHW plants, none of which were on our property.
We also noted a number of birds, all without birding being the focus of our visit. Included were American Robin, Red-bellied woodpecker, Downey woodpecker, Song Sparrow, House Wren, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Mallard Duck, Blue Jay, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird, American Crow and Northern Flicker.
We found an American toad (about toonie sized) and one large Green Frog. Three or four species of butterfly, including Mourning Cloak and a good number of Bumblebees. Jack in the Pulpits are beginning to unfurl, Twin leaf, already finished blooming.
Marco DeBruin
Friday, May 7, 2021 – Graham MacDonald and I just finished a walk through Montgomery. Beautiful weather. We found 2 plants near the river; both about 30 cm tall. A third was located farther inland on the east side of the trail about 60 cm tall. None were on our property.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 – Wayne Buck and I just completed this week’s Giant Hogweed search. We removed two plants, one quite large as shown in this photo taken by Wayne. It was 3 ft x3 ft. The other was smaller. Neither were on our property.
The following birds were heard or seen: mallard, spotted sandpiper,G B heron, kingfisher, red-bellied and hairy woodpeckers, flicker, GC flycatcher, jay, chickadee, WB nuthatch, house wren, starling, robin, goldfinch, red winged blackbird, cowbird, and cardinal.
Ostrich ferns are unfurling. There are still a few trout lilies in bloom along with wood anemone and trilliums. Jack-in-the-pulpits are emerging.
Fraser Gibson
Thursday, May 27, 2021 – I visited Montgomery today with bright sunshine, nicely cool air and fairly dozy mosquitoes. I did actually take a bit of time out from my bird-watching to scan the ground.
I found two small Giant Hogweed plants around the first inlets/sloughs by accidentally stumbling across the plants just as I was about to step on them. The surrounding vegetation is high enough to hide them now. The next 3 plants were right beside the pathway further down, and much easier to find. Somebody had already flagged them but hadn’t dug them up. I didn’t spot any GH on WRN property.
Along with lots of Dames Rocket and Buttercups, the Canada Anemone and Wild Geranium were in bloom.
Paul Bigelow
Birds
Canada Goose
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
American Robin
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Kitchener-Waterloo Peregrine Falcon Fledge Watch 2021
The adult peregrine falcons have thrown us a curve in this second year of the pandemic. Rather than raising their four young ones in the perfectly good nest box on the CTV tower, they decided to use a 9th floor ledge at St. Mary’s Hospital.
Fledge watchers are legally permitted during this period since animal rescue is the main objective.
If you feel motivated to get out of the house and observe the activities, email Dale Ingrey at ingreyda@hotmail.com and I will add your name to the parking pass sheet at the hospital and to the fledge watch group list. No experience with previous fledge watches is necessary. All you need is a lawn chair, hat, water, sunscreen, and binoculars or scope if you have one.
The watch will begin in earnest, dawn to dusk, the weekend of June 5 when the five week old peregrines are expected to take their first flights, but watchers are welcome before that as well. Any amount of time from an hour or two or longer would be appreciated. The more eyes the better when the youngsters take flight and possibly come to ground. Covid protocols will be in effect, ie. distancing and masking if in close proximity to others.
Originally posted May 5, 2020. Reposted June 30, 2020 with more reports and photos from the rest of the monitoring season.
Hi Members and Friends of Waterloo Region Nature
The members of the Montgomery Committee thought you might be interested in the one activity that our committee can continue while in Corona Lockdown, and that is the monitoring of The Montgomery Wildlife Sanctuary for Giant Hogweed (GH). We did not carry out our normal spring clean-up this year as that requires the cooperation of the entire committee carrying out tasks in groups, so no tarps’ placements to restrain the periwinkle, no trail clearing (except Wendy Shaw & her husband who did go down and work one lovely day in April). However we did, and can, safely do the Giant Hogweed monitoring. Our monitors report, after each weekly outing, on their observations & activity related to GH, and often that includes general observations of plants, birds and animals seen or heard. This way you will hear about nature’s response to this unusual spring in 2020.
Marg Lewis-Macdonald
On Monday, 4 May 2020, Graham and Marg Macdonald accompanied by Wayne and Lynda Buck, entered the property for the season’s second inspection for Giant Hogweed. The ladies were tasked with walking the trail clockwise to install aluminum trail markers. The normal direction is counterclockwise which follows the progression of numbered posts. Weather – Mix of sun and cloud, 5C, very windy from NW.
Since the previous week, despite warm weather, there was very little additional growth, The extraordinary lack of any leaf litter on the ground was again noted, as were the great number of downed trees and associated huge piles of vegetative debris, up to 4 feet above the ground. This was all due to the very severe flood waters March 10 and 11, 2020, that scoured the property.
Graham and Wayne walked the river bank and the adjacent forest interior (up to 25 paces in from the “Fisherman’s path”. Three small GH plants were found and dug up. One was in the interior, one was next to the path, and the third close to the river. All were on the segment of the property still owned by the farm across the river to the west.
There is evidence of much foot traffic on the paths, and several new paths have appeared to circumvent the debris piles. Two dog walkers and one family with young child were seen. The increased traffic is probably due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Spring Ephemerals were becoming more abundant in bloom:
Narrow-leaved Toothwort – widespread, Spring Beauty, Bloodroot, Dutchman’s Breeches, Yellow Trout Lily. White Trout Lily – Very widespread, White Trillium -just starting, Red Trillium – one found, Twin-leaf, Yellow Violet, Purple Violet, Coltsfoot – Alien, Garlic Mustard – just starting to bloom – ALIEN!, (Periwinkle in bloom) – ALIEN!
Plants noted emerging:
Iris sp., Michigan Lily, Wild Leeks, Wild Geranium
Only birds seen were Robins, Chickadees, and a Thrush – perhaps a Gray-cheeked, but view was very brief with binocs. Red Bellied WP heard (Lynda & Marg)
Compiled by Graham Macdonald.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 – Just finished at Montgomery. Ten plants dug up, root and all. The ground quite soft after all the rain so digging was easy.
Lots of birds, but as I spent most of my time looking down I did not identify that many. Did ID Blackburnian and Black-throated Green warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Northern Orioles. Numerous woodpeckers also heard and seen.
A few bugs but no mosquitoes yet.
Wendy Shaw
May 29, 2020 – After a week full of heat warnings, I finally made it out to Montgomery on a pleasant Friday morning. Mosquitoes have definitely arrived, but they were only slightly bothersome.
I ended up spotting and digging up 4 Giant Hogweed plants around 2 feet tall. After all the time I spent scrambling around in the underbrush by the river, 3 of the 4 were mockingly sitting right beside the path. The fourth was on the riverbank straight out from the first wood duck box. While trying to find this plant again after fetching my shovel, I accidentally flushed a fawn. Mommy was nowhere in sight.
There were many Wild geraniums in bloom, along with Mayapple, Star-flowered Solomon’s Seal, and aliens like buttercup and Tatarian Honeysuckle.
The ponds had lots of frogs and there were all sizes of toads throughout the forest.
Birds spotted:
Paul Bigelow
Thursday, June 4, 2020
I visited Montgomery with all my Giant Hogweed required equipment – a pail containing a squirt bottle of soapy water, face shield, rubber gloves, long-sleeved rain coat and towel along with a long handled shovel. After applying insect repellent and forcing myself to leave the binoculars in the car I headed into Montgomery in search of GH. It was a beautiful calm morning and birds were singing everywhere.
Everything has grown rapidly so while walking off trail in search of Giant Hogweed it is very difficult seeing what is in front of your next step. The shovel acts as a great walking stick.
Some Jack-in-the-Pulpits were at least a metre high and Purple-stemmed Angelica is now as tall as my shovel is long.
I found 3 Giant Hogweed plants during my search. One was in the neighbouring property just north of our property line. Two others were further downstream, the furthest being very near our number 8 marker at the Black Maple tree. Near that point I discovered an obvious trail through a large patch of Ostrich Ferns so I followed it to the rivers edge where I found a pile of old tree branches against a fallen tree overhanging the river bank. An animal splashed at the base of this pile and disappeared. I later heard some faint noises coming from the pile of sticks. I believe we have a beaver attempting to make our shoreline its home. There, right at the river’s edge I found the third GH plant. This was the smallest of the 3 plants I found and possibly very close to where Paul found a plant last week.
All of my plants were less than 30” tall so you nearly have to step on top of them to find them. This is a good sign our searches are working because by now a well established plant would be at least as tall as the angelica plants and stand above most other nearby vegetation.
I visited both Wood Duck boxes and beneath the most easterly I discovered several Eastern Screech Owl pellets. Other birds of note that I heard or saw during my time at Montgomery were: Bald Eagle, Green Heron, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I also saw a few toads. On my arrival a White-tailed Deer was seen in the field just east of Montgomery.
Fraser Gibson
Thursday, 11 June, 2020 –
Well it is true, it was a good to be at Montgomery. We followed the trail to post #4, applied insect repellent and I then ventured toward the river past our property marker. In total we found and removed 2 small plants. The first one about 24″ tall and not very bulky. The second was about 12″ tall and had only a single stalk. We would have missed this one except that we were admiring the ferns when it caught my eye.
Other species: Numerous American Toads of varying sizes, One large green frog, ? yellow swallowtail butterfly(you decide), numerous ebony jewel wings, chipmunk, grey squirrel,. Twin leaf with their seed pods, some trilliums with their last remnants of petals, Michigan lily some of which have flower buds, much evidence on various plant species of deer browse. Also !9 species of birds incl., RWBL, COGR, BLJA, RBWO, HOWR, BCCH, AMRO, GRHE, EAWP, BAOR, SOSP, RTHA, NOCA, REVI, GRCA, TRSW, YWAR, EAKI & OSPR.
After last night’s rain, the trails were slippery and had standing water in some places. Trail markers worked well. Some parts of trail well used, other parts not so much. No other persons encountered while there.
In terms of how little GH was found, and none of it on our property, I see no need to go out weekly. Perhaps another monitoring in two or three weeks.
Marco and Donna DeBruin
Tuesday, 16 June, 2020 – Wendy Shaw found no Giant Hogweed plants, so it was decided to skip the following week of monitoring.
Tuesday, 30 June, 2020 – I visited on a sunny day with few mosquitoes, but during the morning it slowly turned into a sauna. I didn’t expect to find Giant Hogweed, and didn’t find any (but that wasn’t a sure thing since I found some last year at about this time).
There were a number of Ebony Jewelwings flitting about, but none of them was kind enough to pose for me. There were quite a few Michigan Lilies blooming. Other flowers in bloom were Canada Anemone, Fringed Loosestrife, and Tall Meadowrue. Great Angelica was living up to its name, many of them now taller than me.
Along with the usual chatter from Robins, Chickadees, Redwings and Jays, there were some birds just getting on with life. A Brown Thrasher sat there quietly, and a pair of Baltimore Orioles perched in their orange and yellow finery. A male Downy Woodpecker was racking up air miles fetching food for his youngster. A juvenile House Wren was showing off, while still keeping an eye on me.
I trimmed some branches that were blocking the entrance to the trail, but there is still some trail clearing work left to be done.
Well that’s a wrap for the Giant Hogweed monitoring season for this year. Thanks go to the volunteers who helped us keep this noxious intruder under control.
Paul Bigelow
Kitchener-Waterloo Peregrine Falcon Fledge Watch 2020
The peregrine falcon fledge watch begins Saturday, June 6 and runs until the end of June. We will observe from the vicinity of the CTV Tower on King St. across from Grand River Hospital.
If you are interested in participating this year please contact Dale Ingrey by email ingreyda@hotmail.com or phone 519-884-3667 for details.
Any amount of time from an hour or two to as much as you can spare would be appreciated. Don’t worry if you have had no experience in rescue. What is most important is keeping an eye on the fledglings as they take their first flights and reporting their location if they come down to the ground.
Our Kitchener-Waterloo falcon chicks hatched on May 6 and 7 and were banded at three weeks of age on May 28. Our three eyases had been well fed by parents Mystery and Mystery Man, so named because they are unbanded birds. The chicks were assessed, weighed, and christened Kawhi (this was during the NBA playoffs when Toronto Raptor fever was running high), Jupiter and Hemera.
On June 15 Kawhi was the first to leave the nestbox at the CTV tower on King St. Jupiter followed him the next day and then Hemera shortly after with a precarious flight to the window ledge just below the lower roof of Grand River Hospital after being enticed by the adult falcons. She did manage to return to the CTV tower before dusk, but was unable to gain enough loft to reach home. Hence she spent the night on a strut below the nestbox. She finally managed to return to the box the next day and over the course of the next two weeks joined her siblings on numerous flights to the King’s Towers roof and over the sports field to the east.
The rest of the fledge watch was fairly uneventful as we watched the adults taking the fledglings on flights farther afield and higher and higher. For the first time in the eight years we have been involved in the fledge watch, we did not have to rescue a downed fledgling even once, a pleasant surprise indeed.
Over the summer the young were schooled in the art of hunting their prey in the air and bringing it to various roof tops in the area. By mid September they were heading south to Central and South America for the winter. We may receive news in the next year or two if our KW falcons return to Ontario to raise families of their own. Meanwhile Mystery and Mystery Man will stay in Kitchener Waterloo for the winter and do it all over again next year.
Many thanks to WRN members Randy Fowler, Christine Alexander, Fraser Gibson, Don Thomas and Sandra Moores who participated in this year’s fledge watch.
Dale Ingrey
As many of you heard at the February Membership meeting, the Ontario Government is proposing changes to the Endangered Species Act. These changes will impact species at risk while supporting easier development. This is not the proper way forward. We need your voice to speak out against proposed changes. You can write a letter or use the Ontario Nature template to sign onto their campaign.
Here is the link to Ontario Nature Campaign – https://ontarionature.org/programs/endangered-species/
Please consider signing on today!
Thank you for your awareness and voice on this matter.
Some WRN members were part of a local protest against Section 10 of Bill 66 on Friday, January 11, 2019.
This legislation threatens drinking water, health, farmland, natural areas and the environment across the province. For a concise summary of the impacts, see this one-page overview put out by Ontario Nature: Bill 66 – What You Need To Know.
Ontario is taking action to protect important water resources in the Greater Golden Horseshoe by launching a public consultation on expanding the province’s Greenbelt. The province is considering expanding the Greenbelt to include areas in the outer ring of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, an area that is experiencing significant growth and is under pressure from urban development.
The public, municipalities, conservation authorities, stakeholders, and Indigenous communities and organizations are invited to provide input on a study area for potential Greenbelt expansion. The consultation comprises seven areas most in need of protection, including moraines, cold water streams and wetlands such as the Waterloo Moraine, the Paris-Galt Moraine, the Orangeville Moraine, the Oro Moraine, the Minesing Wetland and other valuable water resources that communities rely on for their water supply.
Comments may be submitted at www.ontario.ca/greenbelt, and letters of support should be sent directly to political leaders, or via www.protectourwaters.ca or at an upcoming Open House Meeting before March 7th, 2018.
Participate at a public open house being held in the Greater Golden Horseshoe study area. The dates, times and venue locations are subject to change and periodic updates may occur. Please check back often to review the most current information at http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page17641.aspx
The local open house is at:
Tannery Event Centre
151 Charles Street West
Kitchener
Thursday, February 22, 2018
5:30-8:00pm
To see a map showing the areas being studied for expansion see:
Study Area – Coldwater Streams and Wetlands.
Voice your support before March 7th at: www.ontario.ca/greenbelt, www.protectourwaters.ca and https://ontarionature.good.do/bluebelt/sign/
Region of Waterloo
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/contact-regional-council.asp
Regional Chair Ken Seiling – (519) 575-4585 – kseiling@regionofwaterloo.ca
Regional Planning and Works Chair Tom Galloway – tgalloway@regionofwaterloo.ca
All of Council – regionalcouncillors@regionofwaterloo.ca
Local MPP’s and Premier
Daiene Vernile – (519) 579-5460 – dvernile.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Kathryn McGarry – (519) 623-5852 – kmcgarry.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
Catherine Fife – (519) 725-3477 – cfife-co@ndp.on.ca
Michael Harris – (519) 954-8679 – michael.harris@pc.ola.org
Ted Arnott – (519) 787-5247 – ted.arnott@pc.ola.org
Kathleen Wynne – (416) 325-1941 – kwynne.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Written by Stephen Trink
December 2016
Almost five years ago, I was reading a newspaper article about the plight of honeybees and was inspired to do something about it. Perhaps you will recall the news headlines regarding Colony Collapse Disorder or “CCD” for short? Suspected causes for this phenomenon include varroa mites, malnutrition, loss of habitat and a new class of pesticide called neonicotinoids. After reading about this catastrophe, I was determined to read every book and watch every DVD I could get my hands on at our local library and spent endless hours searching the internet for information on how to keep bees. After six months of intense research, I finally purchased our equipment which included wooden hive boxes filled with frames, a protective suit, hive tool, gloves and a smoker. Finally, I painted the boxes glossy white, ordered our bees and registered as an official beekeeper with the Ministry of Agriculture (registration is free by the way). Nothing could have prepared me for the wonderful adventure that awaited us!
While my original motivation was to help these important pollinators, I quickly realized the sweet reward of raw wildflower honey which we were starting to harvest in great abundance by the second year! In addition to honey, I also collected the wax which we now make into homemade lip balm and candles. This has proven to be a richly rewarding hobby for our entire family and a lot of fun too! Last year, I purchased a child size suit which enabled our kids to join us during hive inspections.
I feel privileged to have this opportunity of being a beekeeper; I am constantly learning new things about bees and developing better strategies for managing my hives from other beekeepers at our local Grand River Beekeeper’s Association. It is richly fulfilling to know that I am doing my part to help these important pollinators. It was Albert Einstein who wisely stated that, “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” This is the challenge we face right now and failure is not an option.
Pollination provides one of the clearest examples of how our disregard for the health of the environment threatens our own survival. About 75% of all crops require pollination, often by bees, but sometimes by flies, butterflies, birds or even bats.
In southwest China, they are forced to hand-pollinate their apple and pear orchards because their excessive use of pesticides has completely eradicated their entire wild bee population.
Farmers in these areas carry pots of pollen and paintbrushes to individually pollinate every flower! Obviously this is not a viable solution to the problem as there are not enough humans in the world to pollinate all of our crops by hand.
Another problem is the increasing lack of natural habitat for pollinators. Admittedly, the situation in China is one of the most dramatic cases in the world today but there is increasing evidence from around the globe pointing to unsustainable farming practices which are incompatible with the long term survival of our pollinators.
So, what can be done? Promising studies conducted in both Europe and North America have shown that planting strips of wildflowers on farms or leaving patches of natural vegetation such as forests, can greatly boost pollinator populations including honey bees! According to these studies, these practices increase populations of natural predators, which decreases the need for pesticide use.
In Ontario, our government can no longer ignore the increasing scientific evidence which clearly shows that neonicotinoid insecticides are highly toxic to honey bees and other beneficial insects. Part of the problem is that these potent insecticides don’t break down quickly in soil. They are water soluble and easily run off into local water systems, where they can harm aquatic insects also. The province has promised to reduce the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed by 80% by the year 2017. This is a good start but is it too little, too late? Several years ago in Europe they implemented a five year ban on neonicotinoid insecticides after determining that they posed an “unacceptable” danger to bees.
In the United States alone, crop pollination by insects is estimated to be worth $14.6 billion to the economy. Some pollination is done by domesticated honeybees, like blueberries and almonds but the bulk of pollination of most crops is done by wild insects like bumblebees.
Without bees, our diets would be rather boring. How would you like to survive on wheat, barley and corn, and little else? Raspberries, apples, strawberries, peas, beans, melons, tomatoes, blueberries, pumpkins and many more all rely on pollination. Most importantly, imagine a world without honey!
Bees and other insects have provided free pollination for our crops for millennia. They will continue to do so if we learn to recognize their importance and return the favour by providing them with what they need to survive.
Stephen and his wife April have been beekeeping hobbyists for the past 5 years. They currently manage 12 hives located in Teeswater and St. Agatha. Stephen received his undergraduate bachelor’s degree in Science (BScN) from McMaster University in 2006. In his professional career, Stephen worked in an acute care setting at St. Mary’s General Hospital as a Registered Nurse for several years. For the past ten years, he has been working in a management role in long term care. He is a member of the Grand River Beekeepers’ Association and joined the Waterloo Region Nature Club earlier this year. April and Stephen are the proud parents of five beautiful children and live in Kitchener, Ontario. If you are interested in getting into beekeeping Stephen would be happy to answer any questions you might have and is willing to mentor new beekeepers! Please email him directly: stevetrink@hotmail.com
Grow Our Greenbelt
http://www.growourgreenbelt.ca/action
Waterloo Region (current system)
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/abouttheenvironment/growthmanagement.asp
Environmental Bill of Rights – comments
Yours for Nature,