Jun 20, 2013


The Kingston Field Naturalists recently held their 15th annual BioBlitz on a property of the Land Conservancy for Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, the Depot Creek Nature Reserve. This 72-acre property has wetland, woodland and open areas providing habitat for a variety of plants and animals. The weather was perfect and relatively few mosquitoes were encountered!

The purpose of a BioBlitz is to list as many plant and animal species as possible in a 24-hour period, thus giving a snapshot of the biodiversity of the site. This one-day inventory of the living things in an area provides a baseline for observing future changes that could occur due to global warming or invasive species. Both amateur and professional naturalists join forces to spot and identify species and to educate each other and the public about the diversity of the location.

Sixty-two field observers spread over the property from 3pm June 14 to 3pm June 15 collecting information on everything from early morning birds to night time moths and from woodland slugs to wetland red-bellied leeches. Participants included Kingston Field Naturalists, professionals, neighbours and youth.

The young and not-so-young enjoyed dipping in a pond for a variety of small animals to add to other invertebrates including discovering the species that had entered various live traps left in the water overnight. Fresh water mussels and crayfish were found as well as several species of fish. Plants varying in size from trees and shrubs to grasses, sedges and other flowering herbaceous species were also added to the tally. Some spore bearing species which include ferns, mosses and lichens were recorded. Nighttime activities allowed the addition of those species more active after dark and included bat observations, owl calling and moth identification. Overnight the Whip-poor wills (a species of concern) were heard and the Bullfrog calls were deafening!

Guided walks were available to the general public on a variety of natural history themes throughout the event for those wishing to participate and learn about the ecology of the area. Topics included live trap and release of small mammals, bird identification and snake hunting as well as moth, butterfly and dragonfly listing. A special astronomy session was held which proved to be of great interest although this did not add species to our lists. This dark sky site enabled people to have some spectacular sightings with the telescope provided. A delicious BBQ was held at noon on Saturday and prizes were presented for answering quiz questions.

The most special sighting was of our only lizard species: a Five lined Skink was seen by many participants. We found a Bluebird nesting in a natural tree cavity in the meadow where Bobolinks and Meadowlarks were also recorded. In addition a night hawk was also heard. These last species are all aerial insectivores and are species of concern mostly because of the loss of their diet species.

How many species were found? The final tally is not in but we do know we recorded 5 mammal species, 66 birds, 9 reptiles and amphibians, 3 fish, 16 dragonflies and 20 species of butterflies. 9 ferns and fern allies were recorded and the final tally of trees, shrubs and herbaceous pants including grasses and sedges is not yet available but usually makes up more than half the total number of species Overall it is estimated that over 400 species were recorded for this one day inventory of the property. The Kingston Field Naturalists hope that future generations will also have the thrill of finding as much variety of life in this area in one day. - submitted by the Kingston Field Naturalists

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