Nature in the Past in South Kent

I have been doing some reading lately of historical information in Kent County. I just thought I would mention a few things here.
One book is Romantic Kent (Victor Lauriston, 1952).  There is a wealth of information about the county including natural history.  There is reference to Rondeau, which was sometimes called Pointe aux Pins, loosely translated into Point of Pines.  There were once big stands of pines there which were once possibly used for ship’s masts.

Rondeau was established as a provincial park in 1894, so has a long history.  Many changes have been seen over the years.  In Lauriston’s book, there is a photo of the entrance to Rondeau Park which I thought was interesting.  A little more picturesque than today!

I also read an article by H. B. Wressel in the Kent Historical Society’s Papers and Addresses.  I mentioned Wressel before in past blogs.  The particular article is entitled Flora, Fauna and Naturalists in Kent. 

Animals, plants and birds are all mentioned.

Picking out some interesting tidbits, there is reference to the White-tailed Deer.  Someone mentioned to W.E. Saunders (the famed London naturalist), that in 1889, the last deer was shot near Rondeau about 1881. Of course, we now know that they are plentiful.

Black bears were apparently around into the 1800’s.  Fisher and Marten were present as well.

Regarding birds, the earliest record of bird life in Kent was found in Life and Times of Sir William Johnson (W. L. Stone, 1865).  In August 1761, Johnson saw great quantities of pigeons at the west end of Rondeau Bay.  Obviously he is referring to Passenger Pigeons.

In 1847, Rev. Francis William Sandys arrived in Kent.  He was a keen naturalist and collector.  As was custom in the day, birds were shot and collected and often mounted. Sandys established an impressive collection of around 175 local birds, and many of these mounted specimens went to the Chatham-Kent Museum.

Among them, were two Cardinals that were taken at Chatham in May 1849.  This was one of the first, if not the first of that species taken in Canada.  The Cardinal was not recorded in Ontario until the mid 1800’s!

Wressel goes on to mention that a Professor Harry Attwater (from Chatham) collected the rare Hooded Warbler at Rondeau in 1884.

The great ornithologist Thomas McIlwraith was also a collector and some of his specimens included the Snowy Egret, Wild Turkey and Red-bellied Woodpecker.  I have a copy of his book The Birds of Ontario, well over 100 years old, which I look through from time to time.

In 1924, a list and information about birds in Kent, was published by Dr. G. T. McKeough and J. H. Smith.  This was published in the Kent Historical Society Papers and Addresses: Volume 6, 1924.  Some 230 species were listed for the county. I wrote about this list in past blog posts.

Dr. McKeough, who was a member of the American Ornithologists Union (AOU), also wrote a weekly newspaper column about birds.  I happened to have a few of those! (do not remember how I obtained them, lol).

An unpublished manuscript of the county’s birds was compiled by A. A. Wood, which I have also mentioned in previous blog posts.
Albert Andrew Wood

As interest in nature increased, some local people formed the Kent Nature Club. The first meeting was in Chatham on November 27, 1930 where A. A. Wood gave an illustrated talk on the birds of southwestern Ontario.

Shortly afterwards, there was provincial interest in forming a federated group of clubs.  In May 1931, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists was formed (now Ontario Nature).  Seven clubs, including the Kent group, were among the charter members.

  

Interest in natural history has grown, and parks became important.  Wressel goes on to mention that at Rondeau Provincial Park, a part-time naturalist was appointed in 1947, and in 1954, R. D. Ussher became a permanent naturalist at the park.

There is much more that can be talked about, but I will end it here.