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By JoAnn Grondin

Feel the buzz in the room; after all this time we finally get to see old friends and make new ones too

Help to raise funds for the Heritage Committee, which we haven’t been able to do for the last 3 years.  Bid the highest in the silent auction and enjoy your purchase(s)

Enjoy the cash bar

Enjoy an interesting talk by Dr. Dennis Higgs, a Biology Professor at the University of Windsor; his topic is Fish Communications.  Dr. Higgs has been described as very friendly and interesting; the crowd really enjoyed his talk

Take part in honouring a special member for his/her outstanding work for our Club

Enjoy a Country style sit down dinner consisting of buns and butter, an entre (chicken, vegetarian, or vegan), roasted potatoes, salad, dessert, and coffee or tea

Take your chances of winning a nice door prize

Feel good for helping with a fund raiser

Our 36^th Annual Dinner is on Saturday, Nov. 4^th at the Royal Canadian Legion, Metropolitan Branch 594, 5030 Howard Avenue, Tecumseh, ON. (South of Hwy 3; across from the Heavenly Rest Cemetery)

Doors open at 5:00 pm. Dinner at 6:30 pm

Tickets are $40.00 each

Purchase tickets in person or online:

Ojibway Nature Centre, open Wed. to Fri. 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm and Sat. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Aileen Petrozzi –

JoAnn Grondin – 519-734-0056

Or online 

The last day to buy tickets is midnight on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023

(We cannot sell tickets after that date; we have to give the Legion a total number and cannot add to it)

Come join us!  Have fun!

By Catherine Hogg

“BOHP’s Black Oak savanna is one of the largest stands in Ontario. It is also one of the most endangered habitats in Canada. This unique natural area in the City of Windsor includes large, often old-growth trees – some 150 to 200 years old. In addition to the precious Black Oak savanna and Black Oak woodland, the area includes: some tallgrass prairie; native plants that are extremely rare across Canada; a variety of large wildlife (deer, coyotes, foxes); rare butterflies like the Hackberry Emperor; nesting birds like the Scarlet Tanager, Acadian Flycatcher, Black Oak Cuckoo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Eastern Bluebird, and Cooper’s Hawk. BOHP is a true haven for many of these birds that require large sections of unbroken forest to survive.” (https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/parksandforestry/city-parks/pages/black-oak-heritage-park.aspx)

The Essex County Naturalists have been doing bi-weekly walks in the Black Oaks Heritage Park since April. Friends of Ojibway Prairie have joined us on these walks.

We are planning to do these walks for 1 year to see the many different changes in the park.  I have been documenting what we see and have enjoyed the social aspect of the hike. The participants share their knowledge, and all enjoy the many discussions on the trail such as:

What got you interested in Nature? “The first time I found an owl pellet”

Why is the plant called Bedstraw? Bedstraw was used by North American pioneers to fill their mattresses.

“Architects copied the support system from nature” When looking at a Buttress from a mature tree

The following is a summary of the sightings for the first 4 months which have been verified by participants (members), Merlin or iNaturalist.

April

Bird count- 18 species, 16 will probably stay to nest: Eastern Towee, white throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Red wing Blackbird

Plants- 19 species: Ephemerals blooming on the forest floor, Dutchman’s Breeches, Spring Beauties

May

Bird Count- 34 species: Many Migratory warblers passing through: Cape May, Blackburnian, Chestnut Sided and Tennessee.

Plants- 18 species: Violets, Wild Geraniums, Solomons Seal and Bloodroot

June

Bird Count-18 species: Red Tail Hawk seen and heard at same location on several visits

Plants-11 species: Yellow Loosestrife, Goats Beard, May Apple, and Prickly Ash

July

Bird Count-13 species: Most of the birds seen are probably nesting in HBOP now. Blue Grey Gnatcatcher, Indigo Bunting, Gray Cat Bird, Cedar Waxwing, American Gold finch

Plants- 21 species: Large Patches of Bergamot blooming and attracting butterflies (Black Swallow Tails, Monarchs, Viceroys, Giant Yellow Swallowtails and Red Spotted Purple)

If you are interested in the complete count, I can print you copy.

Our next walk will be September 16^th 10a, Hope to see you there and bring a friend!

Catherine Hogg, ECFNC member

By Aileen Petrozzi

Last year the Invasive Phragmites Control Centre came in and sprayed around the little pond at the Bryerswood Optimist camp near Amherstburg.  They later took out dead phragmites, with assistance from members of our Phragmites Committee.  In June, six volunteers came back to take out the new growth. Other than the mosquitoes bothering us, we completed the job in two hours without difficulty.  We basically walked around the small pond and caned the new growth in the water and on the shore. We will return to Bryerswood in late September to use spades on land and use the camp’s canoe to get to the middle of the pond with our canes.

Spades are used on land more efficiently to cut the air supply to the root. See link about spading: https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/OPWG-Spading-Postcard-1.pdf

The Phrag committee is patiently waiting on the grant that we applied for from the Green Shovels Collaborative. If we are successful, this will allow us to purchase more equipment and continue our work.

After extensive lobbying, we are excited about the possibility to partner with Windsor. The paperwork is in with the city of Windsor; permits are needed. This will allow us to assist at the Ojibway property with their Phragmites control. We will need volunteers. Please email: if you’re interested in learning more, and would like to assist with Phragmites control in our county.

Picture: left to right at the completion of Bryerswood Camp work in June: Heather Inksetter, Michelle Mastellotto, Howard Williams, Megan Irwin, and Roland Chaudat.