The Egret Article

By Sarah Rupert, Promotion Officer PPNP

Point Pelee National Park was excited to host its Annual Christmas Bird Count on Monday, December 16, 2024. This was the 72nd year for the
count, held in the 15 km diameter circle known as the Pelee Birding Area. Results have been forwarded to the National Audubon Society and Birds
Canada to be incorporated in data collected from across North America. This information is used by scientists and ecologists across the continent
to gain insight into the long-term health of bird populations and the environment.

52 people participated from across southwestern Ontario, including members of the Caldwell First Nation. We again welcome many first time
Christmas Bird Count participants and they were rewarded with some great observations. Participants were invited to attend the bird count
wrap-up at the Visitor Centre with a tasty dinner graciously supplied by the Friends of Point Pelee.

This year’s counters were greeted with a very damp count day, with periods of dense fog, rain and overall greyness. Temperatures were quite
mild for this time of year, ranging from 6 to 8C. Despite the damp weather, a good total number of individuals was recorded (59 676). The
lake was completely open, so there were some large rafts of ducks to count and still water in the ponds were partially frozen, with open spots in areas
to allow for Great Blue Herons to stick around.

The total number of species observed on the count day was 90, with an additional 7 count week species.

Count highlights included:
Black-legged Kittiwake – An adult was observed in Wheatley Harbour during the CW
Five species of Owls – On the count day observers found Eastern Screechowl, Great Horned Owl and Long-eared Owl, while Northern Saw-whet
Owl and Short-eared Owl were observed during the count week
Wild Turkey (low numbers) – after missing this species in 2021, it was found this year. Numbers in recent years show a dramatic shift in the
population of this species in the park, with far fewer individuals present.
Northern Mockingbird – overwintering bird continued in a Leamington neighbourhood
Eastern Meadowlark – 2 lingering individuals were spotted with groups of blackbirds.

A full listing of all the sightings broken down by area and a map are included.

Thank you to all the volunteers who were able to contribute at this very busy time of year.
Next year’s count will be held on Monday, December 15, 2025.

We hope that you will be able to join us!
Sarah Rupert,
Count Compiler
Promotion Officer, Point Pelee National Park

By Jeremy Hatt

Earlier in the year, President of the West Elgin Nature Club (WENC), Kelly-Sue O’Connor, reached out to the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club (ECFNC) suggesting we have a Zoom call to share strategies for increasing membership engagement in our respective Clubs.

The Membership Committee agreed that this was a great opportunity and began to plan a meeting time but Kelly-Sue then suggested something even better: why not include the Sydenham Field Naturalists (SFN) in the conversation? Kelly-Sue knew the President of SFN, Mike Smith, well and figured we might as well make it a tri-county meeting to bring together members from Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Elgin. A labyrinthine email chain was soon underway and before we knew it, members from all three Clubs agreed on a date and time to meet in person in Chatham!

The meeting was a resounding success. We met on October 8, 2024, at the Sons of Kent Brewing Co. for food, drink, and discussion. Five members from ECFNC, four members from SFN, and one member from WENC were present for the meeting. There was a lot of energy in the room as representatives of each Club gave a brief history of how each one was created, what they offer their members, and how they plan to expand and improve moving forward.

One of the major developments from the meeting was planning a few joint events each year hosted by a different Club on a rotating basis. This was later coined the Nature Neighbours Series and the first outing was hosted by SFN on December 7 at Sycamore Woods in Wallaceburg. The event was a great success with 26 people attending from all three Clubs. ECFNC, SFN, and WENC plan to meet in January or February to discuss another spring event hosted by WENC.

This type of collaboration is the first of its kind for ECFNC and really demonstrates what is possible when different groups come together to share ideas. Members are encouraged to bring forth any ideas they have for the Club and how ECFNC can continue to strengthen our community. It is also encouraged that members attend the events put on by our three Clubs as it’s a great way to meet new people and share the knowledge, history, and nature of our local areas.

Meeting Minutes
– arranged by Mike Smith, President SFN

Sydenham Field Naturalists / Essex County Nature / West Elgin Field Naturalists – Collaboration Meeting 08 OCT 2024 / 6:30 PM / SONS OF KENT

1. Roundtable introductions
   a. Mike Smith, President SFN
   b. Ismay Earle, Vice-President SFN
   c. Sherri-Anne Wills, Communications Chair SFN
   d. Patti Henderson, Membership Chair SFN
   e. Carl Maiolani, member ECFNC
   f. Jeremy Hatt, Membership Chair ECFNC
   g. Melanie Masse, Social Media ECFNC
   h. Janice Boussey, Membership Secretary ECFNC
   i. Aileen Petrozzi, ECFN
   j. Kelly-Sue O’Connor, WEFN
   
2. Potential Collaboration Opportunities
   a. Youth / membership attraction initiatives
   b. Joint outing for all club members to attend
   c. ECN Natural Heritage Restoration Program
   i. Does the seed collection manual still exist? Possible to get a copy?
   d. Carolinian Canada – Southern Ontario Seed Strategy
   e. ReForest London – Seed Corridor Initiative
   
3. Sydenham Field Naturalists
   Has been in existence since 1986, steward two properties for the municipality (Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods, PawPaw Woods) and one for Ontario Nature (Sydenham River Nature Reserve), planted two Miyawaki forests this past spring in municipal parks in Chatham, working more closely with Enbridge for funding of projects and initiatives, annual plant sale is our primary fundraiser, associated closely with ReLeaf Chatham-Kent (native plant gardening FB group), SFN started a FB group called Birds of Chatham-Kent, recent grant received from Invasive Species Action Centre for removal of multiflora rose from Pawpaw Woods
   
4. Essex County Nature
   Also celebrating 40th year this year, a few properties that the club has helped purchase, membership committee started ‘pop-ups’ – more casual outings without a specific ‘leader’, monthly meetings in Windsor at Ojibway, quarterly newsletter – content supplied by members, Phrag Fighters committee has been a success and making good connections to the community, agreement with city of Windsor to remove phrag around a stormwater pond, consultations with private landowners and Caldwell First Nation
   
5. West Elgin Field Naturalists
   Club started in 1947, KS is President and supported by a board of directors, do not have conservation goals, Monday morning walk every week, share natural sightings at each meeting, have monthly speakers, lack of knowledge about the club in general, started Instagram page which attracted new members, 30-40 members attend each meeting, do butterfly counts every year
   
6. Grant / Fundraising Opportunities
   a. Invasive Species Action Center, TD Friends of the Environment, Federal 2 Billion Tree Program, municipal specific opportunities such as Chatham-Kent Community Fund
   b. Breweries – custom beer – Sons of Kent, Red Barn Brewery have both done similar things in the past with other non-profit organizations
   
7. Combined Event
   a. SFN can offer up a walk in Sycamore Woods – 11 acre old growth woodlot in Wallaceburg. Access is restricted to SFN board members only, so a specific date would need to be coordinated.
   b. Maidstone Conservation Area is another good possibility

By Ian Naisbitt

Our Crest is a 12 Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly.

“Twelve-spotted Skimmers are fast and agile. If given time to count, one would see a total of twelve brown-black spots on all four wings of the male – three on each one. Between these black spots sit eight bright white spots that may even appear light blue. White smudges also appear next to the body. The female and immature males have the twelve brown-black spots, but not the white ones, so it is still acceptable to call them all twelve-spotted. Males have a powdery blue abdomen or ‘tail’. The female tail is mostly black with a long yellow stripe on each side. Adults feed on small flying insects.
Like other skimmers, the Twelve-spotted Skimmer is usually found near sources of water. Females lay eggs in ponds, lakes, or slow-moving streams and rivers where they hatch into naiads/ nymphs. The young naiads look more like crustaceans than dragonflies and spend this early life stage underwater. After feeding and growing, nymphs eventually crawl out of the water and molt into winged adults.
This species is common across all three countries on the North American continent. They are active mostly in the summer and are fast fliers. Look for these large, robust skimmers near the water’s edge by lagoons, creeks, ponds, and lakes.”
~Insect Identification.org

In the past, our Little River Enhancement Group participated in Little River Watershed Tours once a year. Our group would visit the sites where volunteers cleaned up the river or planted trees. We checked how much garbage accumulated over the past year at the cleanup sites and estimated the success rate of the trees we planted at other sites.

We also looked for potential sites that could use our help. While at Weston Park in Tecumseh, we hiked around the drain that flowed through the park and we were pleasantly zoomed by a swarm of dragonflies. It was quite an impressive moment for us. Later when our members were brainstorming names for our group and logos, this special moment came to mind. We approached Susan Thompson, graphic artist at the Windsor Star, and asked her to design our logo. We requested from her to draw a crest with a dragonfly in it. Susan asked which one and we said you decide.

Now you know the whole story.