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By Jeremy Hatt

In 2019, ECFNC partnered with Birds Canada for two Swift Night Out events in Essex County. These events are quite popular and attract a diverse group of people looking to learn more about the Chimney Swift, a species at risk familiar to anyone living in a town or urban area.

The first Swift Night Out was held at the Epworth United Church in Kingsville on May 25, 2019. This site holds the highest known number of roosting Chimney Swifts in Essex County during spring migration with over 300 swifts possible during peak times in mid-May. Getting the word out to Club members as well as advertising on various local Facebook groups resulted in an amazing attendance of 42 people, which included a number of members of the church’s congregation. Fortunately, the turnout of swifts was also high. 112 Chimney Swifts put on a great show for all in attendance. It was especially heartening to see members of Epworth United Church take such an interest and they will undoubtedly continue to be proud stewards into the future.

Members of the public patiently await Chimney Swifts entering the chimneys atop the Epworth United Church – photo by Jeremy Hatt

On August 22, 2019, a second Swift Night Out was held at the Walkerville Collegiate Institute. This site has been known historically as a significant fall roosting site for swifts on their southbound migration and this serene summer night did not disappoint. 51 swifts entered the school’s chimney to the enjoyment of the 17 members of the public in attendance. Ontario SwiftWatch coordinator, Megan Hiebert, was in attendance and was able to provide everyone with information on Chimney Swift migration, behaviour, breeding, threats to the species, and local and national conservation efforts.

The Walkerville Collegiate Institute chimney; roosting site for migrating Chimney Swifts – photo by Jeremy Hatt

Swift-watchers at the Walkerville Collegiate Institute – photo by Jeremy Hatt

A spring Swift Night Out is planned this year for the end of May at the Walkerville Collegiate Institute. Keep an eye out for details in upcoming emails and on the events calendar on the Essex County Nature website.

By Jeremy Hatt

The 2019 Holiday Beach CBC was held on Saturday, December 28th. The count includes Holiday Beach Conservation Area, Big Creek, the lower Detroit River north to LaSalle (Lower Detroit River Important Bird Area), Boblo Island, and surrounding areas.

38 volunteers participated in the count, with 37 people making observations in the field and one person observing feeders. A total of 56.75 party hours were tallied: 28.25 hours by foot, 24 hours by car, 1.5 hours of owling, and 3 hours of feeder watching. A combined total of 359km of distance was travelled for the count by foot and by car. 78 species were recorded and a total of 16,413 birds tallied. This is on par with the number of species and individuals seen for the last few years of the count. No additional species were added during Count Week.

Volunteers counting birds from the old ferry terminal on Boblo Island – photo by Jeremy Hatt

Skies were cloudy in the morning turning to partly sunny in the afternoon. The day was quite comfortable with temperatures ranging from around 1C in the early morning and warming to about 5C in the afternoon. Winds were fairly low out of the east but felt a bit more brisk along the Lake Erie shoreline, especially in the late afternoon. Following several mild days in the area, there was virtually no snow cover on the ground and no ice cover on Lake Erie, along the Detroit River, or in any marsh areas. This was similar to the 2018 count, which had no ice cover as well and was mild.

Joan Affleck and Kory Renaud counting ducks on the open waters of Big Creek – photo by Jeremy Hatt

Similar to previous years, the most abundant bird of the count was Canvasback with 2,326 birds tallied. This was lower than the previous year’s count of 6,000+ (the Lower Detroit River is an Important Bird Area for this species with greater than 1% of the global population overwintering on the river). Other diving ducks were fairly scarce and gull numbers were also down; typical of mild periods when they aren’t concentrated along the river. Similar to other counts in Essex County this year, quite a few passerine species were notably low in number or absent. 

A few highlights from the count included 4 Snow Geese, 1 Trumpeter Swan (new for the count), a good count of 27 American Wigeon in the Holiday Beach marsh, 268 American Black Duck (mostly in the Holiday Beach marsh), 1,167 Redhead along Lake Erie and the Detroit River, 3 separate Double-crested Cormorants along the Detroit River, 1 very late Great Egret in the Holiday Beach marsh (new for the count), 1 Turkey Vulture, 2 Red-shouldered Hawks at Holiday Beach, 2 American Coots within the Holiday Beach marsh, 1 Eastern Phoebe on Boblo Island and 2 at Holiday Beach, 1 Northern Shrike west of Holiday Beach, a good count of 27 Carolina Wrens across the count area, and 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Boblo Island in White Sands Conservation Area.

A big thank you to our dedicated Area Leaders, Bob Hall-Brooks, Paul Pratt, Paul Desjardins, Linda Wladarski, and Dave Martin, for helping coordinate another successful CBC and thank you to all the volunteers for helping count. Also a huge thank you to Sarah and Kory Renaud for hosting another excellent roundup with lots of great food.

Area 5 volunteers from left to right: Jeremy Hatt, Kory Renaud, Joan Affleck, Larry Onysko, Paula O’Rourke, Tim Shortridge, Kathy Lesperance, and Dan Loncke – photo by Jeremy Hatt

By Paul Pratt

A Christmas Bird Count is a great way to spend the start of a new year. Michigan’s Detroit River Christmas Bird Count includes a small portion on the Canadian side of the river including the parks that make up the Ojibway Prairie Complex.  On New Year’s Day there were 24 participants covering Ojibway and the river downstream from Lauzon Road to the north end of Fighting Island. 51 species were recorded this year with the highlight being a Baltimore Oriole, only the second record for this count. The very mild weather kept waterfowl away from normal winter concentration sites and very dispersed this year. 

Summary:
Canada Goose 474, Mute Swan 12, Mallard 88, Canvasback 76, Redhead 58, Ring-necked Duck 14, Greater Scaup 29, Bufflehead 9, Common Goldeneye 36, Hooded Merganser 4, Common Merganser 64, Ring-necked Pheasant 1,  Wild Turkey 42, Great Blue Heron 2, Bald Eagle 2, Cooper’s Hawk 4, Red-tailed Hawk 8, Bonaparte’s Gull 15, Ring-billed Gull 190, Herring Gull 23, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Rock Pigeon 826, Mourning Dove 176, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 23, Downy Woodpecker 42, Hairy Woodpecker 2, American Kestrel 2, Merlin 1, Peregrine Falcon 3, Blue Jay 111, Black-capped Chickadee 36, Tufted Titmouse 14, White-breasted Nuthatch 46, Brown Creeper 3, Winter Wren 3, Carolina Wren 12, Eastern Bluebird 3, American Robin 6, European Starling 178, American Tree Sparrow 9, Song Sparrow 9, Swamp Sparrow 1, White-throated Sparrow 8, White-crowned Sparrow 5, Dark-eyed Junco 102, Northern Cardinal 142, Baltimore Oriole 1, House Finch 68, American Goldfinch 89, House Sparrow 334.

Participants: Kevin Baker, Michelle Bondy, Pat Bondy, Karen Cedar, Leia Cedar, Paul Desjardins, Susan Ellis, Larry Evon, Wren Evon, Hazel Evon, Violet Evon, Kristen Fawdry, JoAnn Grondin, Shirley Grondin, Claire Kenno, Theresa LaMire, Cathy Lesperance, Carl Maiolani, Claire McAllister, Paula O’Rourke, Paul Pratt, Kory Renaud, Dianne Rodrigues, Jim Rodrigues, Ian Woodfield.