The Egret Article

Saturday, 13 April, 2024

By Laura Neufeld, Jacqueline Serran and Ian Naisbitt

We acknowledge that the Little River Watershed is in the traditional and ancestral territory of the Caldwell First Nation, a member of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, which includes the Ojibwa, the Odawa and the Potawatomi Peoples.
We recognise that Indigenous Peoples had an original connection with their ancestral land. We are dedicated to learning about and helping Caldwell First Nation to protect, preserve and restore their ancestral lands and waters. We value and respect the contributions and relationships of the Indigenous Peoples in their ancestral territory.
Mnaadendamowidaa Shkaakaamikwe
Respect Mother Earth

The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA), Detroit River Canadian Cleanup (DRCC) and the City of Windsor partnered together to sponsor the River Cleanup at Teedie Park in east Windsor. Essex County Nature/ Lil’ Reg were welcomed to participate in the cleanup.

The public was invited to pick up “Winter Blown” litter along the area adjacent to the river. The cleanup began at 10 a.m. and continued until noon. We have had abundant amounts of rainfall currently so the level of water in the river was high and muddy water was streaming down river! At the end of the day, volunteers collected 193 kilograms of litter. Some of the items included: a basketball, flip-flops, calculator, construction wood,  lots of plastic items, spray cans and of course another shopping cart!

Mother Nature provided another wonderful day for working outdoors. Daybreak revealed a temperature of 6 C → feels like 2 C = Yikes! However, the forecast is a high of 14 C and sunny = Yahoo! Wind will be northwest at 30 km/ h gusting to 60 km/ h. Mister Beaufort’s translation: “Fresh Breeze” to “Near Gale” = Yikes again! UV index 5 or moderate. It turned out to be a sunny day with a wee zephyr. No rain whew! 

Today’s cleanup will address two of the Beneficial Use Impairments (BUI) of the Detroit River Area of Concern (AOC):

• Degradation of fish and wildlife populations (BUI # 3).
• The loss of fish and wildlife habitat (BUI # 14).

Nestling Bees

Obviously, we noticed the white flowering first. Upon closer observation though, we noticed tranquil bees resting in the curled up flowers. It was a chilly morning and apparently the bees found protection from the cold by nestling in the flowers.

Shopping Cart Nightmares

Today, one volunteer managed to retrieve 1 shopping cart from the river. However, we also found 2 old shopping carts in the river. We have noticed these 2 remnants before, they are firmly stuck in the river bed. They brought back nightmares for some of the older volunteers who have spent hours pulling carts from the river in the past.

The record for retrieving carts from the river in one day is 68! Nightmarish indeed!

Muddy Water = Erosion of soil upstream.
However, notice the soil that has been deposited in the bends of the river course.
Over the years, trees and shrubs have established themselves and grown to create wildlife habitat! It’s Mother Nature’s way.

Watching the water flow in a serene moment of the cleanup.

By Chris Hart

During the Member’s Orientation Meeting in January; there was expressed interest in learning more about the the Club’s involvement in various environmental issues. The Board of Directors often reviews and discusses relevant initiatives and campaigns, and following a successful vote, provides comments and/or letters of support.

Recent support from the Club includes:

September 2023 – Signed Ontario Nature’s joint letter to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) urging the implementation of key recommendations of the government-appointed Protected Areas Working Group. Such recommendations included partnering with Indigenous Nations and engaging the public to immediately implement a strategy to protect 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.

November 2023 – Signed Ontario Nature’s joint letter to the MECP in opposition of the proposed changes to ERO 019-7378 Black Ash Regulation, which would make a large proportion of endangered Black Ash trees exempt from current legal protection.

January 2024 – Signed Ontario Nature’s joint letter requesting that the Government of Ontario invest $100 million per year over four years in the establishment of new protected and conserved areas, as recommended by the government-appointed Protected Areas Working Group.

February 2024 – Provided comments to the Town of LaSalle regarding the potential impacts of the proposed Howard Bouffard Development on the existing natural environment. 

February 2024 – Signed Ontario Nature’s joint letter to the the MECP in opposition of Regulatory changes under the Endangered Species Act (ERO# 019-8016), that would see decreased protection and increased exemptions for various species and habitats. 

Please let the Board know if there are any issues you think the Club should support.

By Jeremy Hatt

Since 2015, birders in Essex County have kept a list of all the species found in our area during the month of February, a challenge we call the “Depths of Winter”. It was originally started to encourage local birders to get out during the coldest month of the year and to have a friendly competition amongst ourselves. Depths of Winter used to be conducted on a local listserv named WEPBirds but now reports during the period can be posted to the Ontario Bird Alert Discord server or posted to eBird. Data for the Depths of Winter list is tallied from eBird, Discord, other local listservs, and word of mouth.

2024 was the ninth year birders have taken part in the Depths of Winter challenge. The total number of species tallied this year was 119, tying the record set in 2021. Mild temperatures bookending the month mostly account for this high total w/ many shorter distance migrants arriving earlier than usual and other species being able to overwinter due to almost no ice cover throughout most of the month.

New additions to the Depths of Winter List since 2015 included American White Pelican (record early migrants) Black-crowned Night-Heron (rare overwintering species in the county), and Black-headed Grosbeak (new to Essex County!). American White Pelicans arrived on February 23rd w/ an estimate of about 50 birds. This number rose quickly to about 325 birds by March 3rd. The Black-crowned Night-Heron was an immature bird that managed to overwinter at the Little River Pollution Control Plant, and the Black-headed Grosbeak was coming to a private feeder.

Other highlights this year included Ross’s Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Snowy Owl (virtually absent in the county this winter), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Townsend’s Solitaire, and Tree Swallow (record early).

Notable misses included Short-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Northern Mockingbird (becoming more scarce in the county outside of spring migration), Lapland Longspur, Marsh Wren, American Pipit, and Savannah Sparrow.

Since its inception in 2015, the Depths of Winter List now stands at a total of 146 species. Historically, according to eBird, there have been 163 species recorded in Essex County in February.