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By Paul Pratt

The Breeding Bird Atlas project is underway and it is time to start recording observations of breeding activity. Most birds don’t begin to nest until May and June but there are some birds that like to get an early start. Here is a short list of birds that may provide early breeding evidence. Register as an atlas participant and submit your observations through the Atlas website at www.birdsontario.org 

There is a free NatureCounts phone app available for easy recording of breeding evidence and atlassing effort and the Atlas website provides a complete set of instructions and help files on how to participate. 

If you have any questions drop a note to Paul Pratt or Karen Cedar at  

Here are species recorded with breeding activity in March:

Rock Pigeon 

Mourning Dove

American Woodcock

Bald Eagle

Eastern Screech-Owl

Great Horned Owl

Horned Lark

Birds beginning to nest in April include:

Mute Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Ring-necked Pheasant

Herring Gull

Cooper’s Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

American Kestrel

Eastern Phoebe

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

European Starling

Carolina Wren

American Robin

House Sparrow

House Finch

Northern Cardinal

The large stick nests used by Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Cooper’s Hawks and old nests used by Great Horned Owls are easier to spot before spring leaf out. 

By Gina Pannunzio

As you may have heard on November 5, 2020, the provincial government tabled Bill 229 Protect, Support, and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020. This piece of legislation encompasses more than just a budget in response to COVID-19. It includes significant and concerning changes to the Conservation Authorities Act . There are many partners across the Province of Ontario who are also concerned about the impact of these proposed changes. If you would like to learn more about why conservation matters, you can view this presentation hosted by the Canadian Environmental Law Association, and send a letter to the Minister of the Environment through Ontario Nature. To date, 19, 950 e-mails have been sent to Minister Philips, Minister of Finance, Minister Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Minister Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and local MPPs.

In November, ECFNC sent along a letter strongly opposing the proposed changes, expressing concern that the proposed changes in Schedule 6 will reduce or constrain the mandate of Conservation Authorities, and are therefore contradictory to the interests of the people of Ontario who are facing enormous risks and costs as a result of climate change and ongoing biodiversity loss. The roles and responsibilities of Conservation Authorities are critical in protecting the lands, waters and wildlife which benefit businesses and communities across Ontario, and upon which our health and well-being ultimately depend.

For more detailed information, please review:

Essex Region Conservation Authority (November 24 2020): #ConservationMatters: Proposed Changes to CA Act Continue to Raise Concerns

Essex Region Conservation Authority (November 16 2020): Proposed Changes to CA Act raise concerns

By: Jeremy Hatt

As part of the process of writing the history of the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club, I also felt it was important to create a digital archive of all the past issues of The Egret that are not currently available on the Club’s website. After several years of sporadic motivation to complete this admittedly tedious task (it required a lot of staple removal!), I am happy to announce that all issues of The Egret that I could find from 1984 to 2011 are now scanned and digitized. Kory Renaud is currently working on getting them uploaded to the Club’s website.

While I was writing the Club’s history, I took it upon myself to read many of these old issues and I highly encourage members to explore their pages. I not only learned a lot about the Club and its activities, but also about the natural history of Essex County. There are many informative (and sometimes fascinating) articles to read. It’s also really inspiring to see just how much work volunteers have put into the Club throughout the years.

I wouldn’t have been able to complete this task without the help of Claire Sanders who scanned several years’ worth of issues as well as Sarah Rupert who let me use the scanner at Point Pelee National Park to finish the remaining issues. I also thank Peggy and Tom Hurst and Dave Kraus for letting me borrow all of the past issues they had available and Kory Renaud for helping make them available online.

A final note: there are a handful of issues that seem to be missing. I don’t know if this means they are actually missing or if they just weren’t published during that period but I have included a list of them below. It’s a long shot but if any members happen to have hard copies of any of the following issues, please let me know as soon as possible and we can work out a way to get them scanned.

Volume 11 # 1 (Spring 1994)

(Winter issue 1996)

Volume 15 # 4 (Winter 1999)

Volume 17 # 2 (Summer 2001)

Volume 18 # 4 (Winter 2002)

Volume 23 # 2 (March 2007)

Volume 24 # 1 (March 2008)

Peggy and Tom Hurt’s treasure trove of archived Egrets