Breeding Bird Atlas
Gallery
Breeding Bird Atlas

The Egret Article

Breeding Bird Atlas

By Chris Hart|2021-03-15T17:47:17-04:00March 7th, 2021|The Egret Article|

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.

Get involved in creating the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 3

By essexcountynature|2021-02-21T19:59:21-05:00February 21st, 2021|Environmental projects, The Egret Article|

Calling all birders

Two Eastern Screech-Owls look down from a tree. Photo by Paul Pratt

Wanted: birders and those keen to become better birders.

Data collection for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 3 has begun and there is no better time to get involved. This is a five-year project aimed at mapping the distribution and abundance of the roughly 300 species of breeding birds in Ontario.

It is information collected by volunteers that will be used by researchers, scientists, government officials and conservation professionals.

See club president Paul Pratt’s 10-minute presentation about the atlas on the Essex County Nature YouTube channel. He and Karen Cedar are the Essex regional co-ordinators for the atlas project. Jeremy Hatt is the co-ordinator for Chatham-Kent.

For more details go to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas website.

It’s time to renew your membership

By essexcountynature|2021-02-21T19:48:37-05:00February 21st, 2021|Member's meetings, The Egret Article, Uncategorized|

Join Essex County Nature for 2021

Dr. Catherine Febria, accompanied by her students with the University of Windsor Healthy Headwaters Lab, presented some of their work at the club’s Feb. 10, 2021 meeting on Zoom.

Dear members: We miss seeing you in person, but we haven’t forgotten you.

The club is holding monthly online meetings with guest speakers and posting them on our YouTube channel. The executive board and membership committees are meeting once a month. We are sending out monthly updates and our quarterly newsletter, The Egret, to keep you informed. Insurance, website maintenance and other ongoing club costs are still being paid.

Thank you to those who have paid for your 2021 memberships! You are supporting the club as we remain active until we can meet in person.

Renew your membership for 2021 or make a donation by tapping the green button below. Annual membership fees are $10 for students, $20 for other individuals and $25 for families. If you have questions, contact membership secretary Ellen van Wageningen.

We cannot accept cash payments for memberships and donations at this time. Please send cheques* by mail to:

Cathy Lapain, treasurer

Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club

c/o Ojibway Nature Centre

5200 Matchette Rd.

Windsor, ON, N9C 4E8

(*Cheques should be made out to the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club. Please indicate on the cheque if it is a membership fee or a donation.)

Become a member or renew your membership