By Jeremy Hatt
Birding With Pride at Point Pelee National Park continues to be one of the highest-attended annual events offered by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), and ECFNC was proud to be there to support again this spring. Kicking off the Festival of Birds on the first Saturday of May, the event was well-attended by well over 100 people celebrating the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community.
Creating a respectful, welcoming, and accessible environment is always the priority of the event; a chance for members of the LGBTQ+ Community and allies to meet, bird, and build community. Now in its fourth year, Birding With Pride has become an annual tradition for plenty of birders, but continues to be the first time going birding for many!
Another important aspect of this event is supporting and standing in solidarity with the Trans and Non-Binary Community and one of the efforts to show this support is to have the event serve as a fundraiser for Trans Wellness Ontario (TWO). This year between online and cash donations, the event managed to fundraise $1,141 for the organization! Members from TWO were in attendance to speak on the importance of the work the organization provides to the community, particularly in Windsor-Essex County. For more information on Trans Wellness Ontario, please visit their website at www.transwellness.ca.
Birding With Pride is held at Northwest Beach and offers morning and afternoon hikes on the Marsh Boardwalk, Centennial Trail, West Beach Birding Footpath, and the Blue Heron Seasonal Trail. Coffee, snacks, and refreshments are provided by OFO and this year, we even started a campfire next to the Northwest Beach Pavilion where attendees huddled together for warmth, made smores, and roasted marshmallows.
Temperatures ranged between 4-10C and birds were a bit difficult to find this year, but the event still managed to tally 66 species. Particularly lacking were warblers but highlights included Sora and Virginia Rail on the Marsh Boardwalk (lifers for many attendees), Sandhill Cranes in the marsh, two American White Pelicans flying over the lake, and a White-eyed Vireo on the Centennial Trail. Other new migrants recorded included Caspian, Forster’s, and Common Terns, Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, loads of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern House Wren, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, American Pipit, Field Sparrow, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, Nashville Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
ECFNC members were on hand to help lead hikes and coordinate the event. This year the Club provided further support by coordinating transportation via the South Essex Community Council (SECC) to and from Leamington. This was coordinated with Diversity Dignity Leamington, a Spanish-speaking support group for the local 2SLGBTQIA+ Community that provides a safe, welcoming environment for newcomers and residents to connect, receive support, and access essential resources in their native language. 16 people attended the event as a result of these efforts, and for many them it was their first time visiting Point Pelee. Transit through SECC was funded by the Government of Canada’s Gender-Based Analysis Plus grant, which was awarded to ECFNC this year to “support programs and products that are more inclusive, accessible and effective for a wider range of people, ensuring fairness and equal opportunity for the peoples of Canada.”
ECFNC will continue to support LGBTQ+ initiatives moving forward. June is Pride Month, and once again, the Club will be joining OFO to co-host the annual Ojibway Pride Nature Walk at Ojibway Park. The outing will be held on June 13th at 8:30am and we will meet at the Ojibway Nature Centre parking lot. Coffee and Timbits will be provided in the morning before we start the walk. This is a great way to meet and support other members of the local LGBTQ+ Community while enjoying the diverse wildlife of Ojibway Park. All are welcome.
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