Volunteers piling brush at Napanee Plain
by Todd Farrell, NCC
Current Projects - Napanee Plain
The Napanee Plain Natural Area includes the shallow limestone plain north of eastern Lake Ontario between Belleville and Kingston and includes several alvar and associated habitats including the Asselstine Alvar, Camden East Alvar and Howes Road Alvar.
Napanee Plain is important habitat for the endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrike. This robin-sized bird lives in open areas, making its home among the short grasses, low plants and scattered shrubs, nesting in small trees such as hawthorns that are common to alvar ecosystems.
The Eastern Loggerhead Shrike was common in Ontario many years ago, but their numbers have dramatically decreased primarily due to habitat loss resulting from changing land use and forest growth on former grassland habitats. Napanee Plain includes some of the best remaining habitat for Eastern Loggerhead Shrike in Ontario.
Work on Nature Conservancy of Canada land in the Napanee Plain was initiated in the spring of 2007 to enhance the size and condition of open alvar habitat for the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike – which formerly nested on the property and are currently breeding nearby. Trees were thinned and, with the help of volunteers, brush was piled creating habitat for other wildlife in the area. This work also benefits other priority bird species such as Short-eared Owl, Upland Sandpiper, American Kestral, Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark.
