chart

By Jeremy Hatt

In honor of her insurmountable contributions to the ECFNC, the Club had a tree planted at Holiday Beach Conservation Area in tribute to Betty Learmouth. This beautiful, thriving Tulip Tree stands in the open lawn of Holiday Beach near the natural playground. On June 12, the Club held a tree unveiling for friends and family of Betty’s to see the tree and fondly remember one of our most impactful members.

Warm tributes to Betty were given by several members including Larry Onysko, Ian Naisbitt, and Paul Pratt who shared about Betty’s dedication to nature and conservation, volunteering, activism, and community science, as well as her humble demeanor and sense of humour. Betty had too many accomplishments to list, but was highly instrumental in the success of organizations like ECFNC, Little River Enhancement Group, Holiday Beach Migration Observatory, Friends of Ojibway Prairie, and Canada South Land Trust. It is highly recommend that ECFNC members look back into past issues of The Egret (available on the website) to read the many detailed articles written by Betty as well as the number of projects she was involved with. Betty’s obituary can be found at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/5e8j4wea.

After holding the memorial for Betty, members took a peaceful nature walk around the Hawk Tower where Betty spent many falls counting migrating hawks. As the sun set on a warm summer evening, members shared in Betty’s fondness of nature and community science, contributing lists and photos to eBird and iNaturalist. Highlights from the walk included singing male Prothonotary Warblers on territory, a calling Red-headed Woodpecker, a Summer Azure that allowed close pictures, and several Longnose Gar in Trout Pond.

Members left the evening feeling inspired by the tireless efforts of Betty toward the Club and a commitment to continuing her legacy.

By Jeremy Hatt

ECFNC remains committed to celebrating the contributions of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community to nature and ensuring a safe and welcoming environment during Club activities. The Club was involved in two Pride events again this year including helping with the Birding With Pride at Point Pelee National Park and holding our third annual Ojibway Pride Nature Walk. Both events are held in coordination with the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

Birding With Pride at Point Pelee was another great success this year bringing members of the LGBTQ+ Community and allies from around Ontario and several attendees from Detroit. The event is held annually on the first weekend of May and is part of the Festival of Birds at Point Pelee. It includes opening remarks with snacks and refreshments followed by birder-led walks in the morning and afternoon through the trails around Northwest Beach. This year, the weather was chilly with light rain but it didn’t damper the spirits of those in attendance and we ended up still seeing great numbers and diversity of migrants including warblers, orioles, vireos, and flycatchers! The highlight bird of the day was a Summer Tanager.

The event also serves as a fundraiser for Trans Wellness Ontario and several members of the organization were in attendance to speak about the important work they provide to the community and spread awareness. The event raised $720.47 for Trans Wellness Ontario this year. Many new friendships and connections were made and it’s great to see more new faces at the event each year. ECFNC will continue to provide support and volunteers to this event.

On June 15, the Club co-hosted our third annual Pride Nature Walk with OFO through the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve and Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park. Led by Board members Jennifer Nantais and Jeremy Hatt, this casual walk focuses on community building and our shared love of nature, identifying everything we see from spiders and turtles to birds and wildflowers. We were happy to have a good turnout of 17 people.

iNaturalist is always encouraged on the walk to help identify and appreciate the nature around us, and a friendly, casual vibe makes for a fun outing each year. This year we also included the pond north of the Ojibway Nature Centre to add a few turtle and fish species to the mix while the prairie portion of the walk delivered on butterflies, a wide array of pollinators, and wildflowers.

One of the major nature highlights that had everyone excited was two Eastern Foxsnakes including one that was actively predating a Tree Swallow nest in one of the boxes along Titcombe Road. The other was spotted high in a tree being harassed by Northern Flickers and American Robins. Butterflies included Zabulon, Least, Hobomok, and European Skippers, Eastern Tiger-Swallowtail, Monarch, and Little Wood-Satyr to name a few. One of the large resident Snapping Turtles swam up close to the boardwalk and a few Midland Painted Turtles and invasive Red-eared Sliders were basking in the morning sun within the Ojibway pond. Of course birds are also a major focus of the event and our eBird checklist from the morning is available here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S250989093.

An arachnid of note was a gorgeous Black Purseweb Spider in Ojibway Park. This is an uncommon, rarely-encountered spider in Essex County, with just a handful of records pertaining to Ojibway, Brunet Park, and Point Pelee National Park.

It is imperative during this time of a rise in hatred and attacks on the rights of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community that we as a Club unequivocally support, organize, and promote events like Birding With Pride and the Ojibway Pride Nature Walk within Essex County to show that we stand against any form of bigotry. In particular, standing strong with the Trans Community is especially important in a time when one of our most vulnerable groups is being targeted. We will continue to show our support towards the Community in our activities and outings.

By Alexander Campbell

So far this year the Turtle Conservation Committee (TCC) has been very busy with surveys! With just under 212 working hours logged from April – present, the TCC is thankful for all the hard working volunteers! From early April – currently the TCC has been patrolling many high-mortality areas (HMA’s) and recording deceased wildlife, with a focus on Herps and SAR observations to further establish these HMA’s. Unfortunately, volunteers have recorded over 329 observations of wildlife on roads in these areas. From Mid May – currently the TCC has been conducting Nesting and Visual Encounter Surveys of Turtles around Essex County. Most of the species that can be found in Essex County have now been observed nesting, including several rare observations of Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles & a single Eastern Musk Turtle, and most of these nests have been protected. We have protected so many nests this year that we are down to our last few Nest protectors!

During Visual Encounter Surveys, lead biologists were able to take biometric, reproductive data and shell notch from the following turtles; 1 Blanding’s Turtle, 3 Common Snapping Turtles, 1 Northern Map Turtle and an Easter Musk Turtle! Please note that all operations conducted by the TCC are conducted under the permits and authorization of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks.

Please remember to report all sightings of Alive, Deceased or Injured Turtles, Turtle Nests to the Turtle Conservation Committee – Turtle Hotline (226) 348-2057. Reports should include a photo, location of the observation and Date/Time

Do you love Turtles? Always wanted to get hands-on experience in the field? Have some spare time to donate to a fantastic conservation program? 
Join the Essex County Field Naturalist Clubs’ Turtle Conservation Committee!

The Turtle Conservation Committee is committed to protecting and conserving turtles, their nests and habitats in Essex County. While partnering with the local conservation authority and other environmental groups, the goals are to identify overwintering sites, nesting sites, critical habitats and threats to the established populations, and to extend our knowledge of the abundance and distribution of native turtles in Essex County. The major key components of this project will be visual encounter surveys, nest monitoring and protection, and road mortality surveys.

How can you help? 
Volunteer! The Turtle Conservation Committee is looking for volunteers to assist with the various operations of the program! Whether you like Outreach & Education, Field Work or building things with your hands, we have the perfect opportunity for you! 

Outreach & Education: 
We are looking for volunteers to assist with the creation and presentation of educational resources based on turtle conservation for the general public, future events and more!

Field Work: 
The foundation of this committee is built on the active field work and research that is being conducted on the native turtle populations found within Essex County. Starting the week of May 4th, 2025 we will be starting our field operations that require the support and assistance from volunteers! Volunteers will play a crucial role in this project, assisting lead biologists with Visual Encounter Surveys of selected Primary, Opportunistic and Historic Turtle sites. Conducting Road Mortality Surveys to determine mortality “ hotspots” in Essex County. Nesting surveys will also be conducted to locate, record and protect vulnerable nests in Essex County to increase the chance of a successful hatch of the clutch. 

Nest Protector Protection: 
The predation of turtle nests directly impacts the population of turtles in an ecosystem. With a large increase of hyper-abundant species (Skunks, Raccoons, Foxes, etc…) the predation of turtle nests has increased, resulting in hundreds of nests failing to hatch and allowing for the population to increase in a sustainable way. Protecting these nests with nest protectors increases the chances of a successful clutch hatch of 90%. We are looking for volunteers who like to work with their hands to construct these nest protectors. 

Call for Donations: 
We are also looking for donations of:

• used High-visibility vests/Shirts to ensure those conducting surveys remain safe during their work. 
• Nets suitable to catch turtles
• Nest cage materials (Untreated lumber 4″ x 2″, 3″ deck screws, 1/2″ galvanized hardware cloth, Staple gun with staples, 8-10″ steel edging spikes, Washers (of a size appropriate for spikes)

For more information or to become a member of the Turtle Conservation Committee, please send an email to Alexander Campbell  and Kathleen Woodhouse ). Please express what interest(s) you have in the committee.