Essex County Nature

Essex County Nature Meeting
2016-10-12 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Detroit) | Ojibway Nature Centre
Larry Cornelis from the Sydenham Field Naturalists will speak on the Sydenham River Nature Reserve. This is a 78 hectare property that straddles both sides of the eastern fork of the Sydenham River, near the town of Alvinston. There is great diversity in the property with species at risk that call it home. The property is being purchased by Ontario Nature and our Club has made a donation towards this purchase. Meet at 7:30 pm at the Ojibway Nature Centre

Reptile and Amphibian Hike
2016-09-25
Stay tuned for further details

Festival of Hawks
2016-09-18 09:00 - 15:00, 2016-09-17 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | Holiday Beach Conservation Area, 6952 Essex County Rd 50, Harrow, Ontario, N0R 1G0, Canada
See migrating hawks with Holiday Beach Migration Observatory’s experts on the tower. Hold and release a hawk or songbird at the HBMO adopt-a-hawk programs throughout the day. See live hawks and owls up close, and visit our website for the schedule of talks and walks. Shop for native plants, binoculars and more, make a nature crafts at this top hawk watching site in Canada.
Event runs over two weekends, from 9am to 3pm each day.
Visit erca.org/birding for a full schedule of events.

Massasauga Rattlesnake Workshop
2016-08-28 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | Vollmer Complex, 2121 Laurier Pkwy, LaSalle, ON, N9J 2X8, Canada
Learn how to safely coexist with our resident rattlers and meet a live rattlesnake! Hear about local recovery work, how you can help this endangered species, and have your questions answered by experienced biologists. A family friendly event!

Nectar Festival
2016-08-27 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Detroit) | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd, Windsor, ON, Canada
Learn about the sweet lives of hummingbirds, butterflies and other nectar lovers. Join us for hummingbird banding and tips on how to attract these jewels to your yard. Banding will start around 9:00 am and displays, activities and treats will run all morning. Free admission.

World Snake Day
2016-07-16 11:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd, Windsor, ON, Canada
Join us as we celebrate our scaly reptile friends with live turtles and snakes, hands-on presentations with local endangered species, crafts and more! Fee: free admission

Moths and Nocturnal Insects
2016-07-15 21:30 (America/Detroit) | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd., Windsor, Ontario, N9C 4E8, Canada
Come out to the Ojibway Nature Centre and get a glimpse of some of our Southern Ontario moths and nocturnal insects. Maurice Bottos is conducting a study of the variety of moths and insects that are attracted to the different types of lights. Two light set ups will be placed at Ojibway and you will have an opportunity to see some of the rarely seen insects that fly at different times of the night.

Essex County Nature Meeting
2016-07-13 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Detroit) | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd, Windsor, ON, Canada
Jenny Tan, Public Health Inspector, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, will be speaking at our monthly meeting on the prevention, symptoms and treatment of Lyme Disease and West Nile Disease. http://tinyurl.com/hxmr4gt

Essex County Nature Meeting
2016-06-08 19:30 - 22:00 UTC | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd., Windsor, Ontario, N9C 4E8, Canada
Massasauga Recovery at Ojibway – Prairie Jonathan Choquette will be giving a talk about his work to recover the local population of Massasauga Rattlesnakes. The Ojibway Prairie population of Massasaugas (Sistrurus catenatus) is one of only two populations of this species remaining in Canada’s Carolinian zone. It is geographically isolated from its Canadian counterparts by over 300 km, is genetically unique, and is the only representative of a tallgrass prairie population of this species in Canada. Historically, Massasaugas were distributed across much of Essex County, however, by about the 1960s they had become eliminated from all but the Ojibway/LaSalle region. Since then, things have only been getting worse for our little rattlers; the range of the Ojibway population has declined by an estimated 95% over the past 40 years! We are now at the point were less than a dozen adults remain. Although hundreds of
hectares of suitable habitat have been protected within the Ojibway Prairie Complex and Greater Park Ecosystem, much of this is unoccupied by Massasaugas, and natural recolonization is hindered by roads, development and small population size. In order to prevent complete extirpation of the Ojibway population, and the ensuing collapse in Massasauga distribution and genetic variation in Canada, intensive recovery work is of great necessity. Since 2013, I have worked with Wildlife Preservation Canada to implement strategic recovery and monitoring actions recommended in the Recovery Strategy for the Massasauga in Canada. These actions include long-term monitoring, threat reduction, habitat protection and enhancement, public outreach, and population augmentation. Results from some of our recovery work to date will be presented. For example, last year, our field team observed three different Massasaugas using the habitat enhancement structures we created! We also started studying the hibernation habitat below-ground to help us choose the best sites for future releases. But there is still lots of work to do in order to secure the recovery of this ecologically and genetically unique component of Canadian herpetofauna.

Bird Hike in LaSalle
2016-06-05 12:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit)
Join Karen Hass and Ian Woodfield on a trip to two lesser known birding hotspots. Target birds, but no guarantees, include Spotted Sandpiper at Vollmer and Eastern Meadowlark and Bobolink at CKWW. Meet at 12 noon at the Vollmer Complex Pond near the traffic circle on Laurier Pkwy, LaSalle east of Malden Road. http://tinyurl.com/zw82y2u

Essex County Nature Meeting - May
2016-05-11 19:30 - 22:00 UTC | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd., Windsor, Ontario, N9C 4E8, Canada
Megan Anevich and Erin Mallon from Ontario Nature (formerly Federation of Ontario Naturalists – FON) will be speaking about Ontario Nature and their upcoming plans for stewardship of the Stone Road Alvar Nature Reserve. Please join us for this informative talk and learn more about Ontario Nature. Our club is a subcommittee of Ontario Nature.

Garlic Mustard Pull
2016-05-07 10:00 - 14:00 UTC | Heinz Woodlot, Leamington, Ontario, Canada
Come one, come all. May 7th will be a lovely day for a little exercise and a lot of good when you join me to pull out the Garlic Mustard that
threatens the native plants in the Heinz Woodlot. Last year, Patricia McGorman, Henry Driedger, and Linda and Ernie Kennette joined my sister, Linda Code and I, and we made a difference! We filled many garbage bags, did a little bending and stretching, and admired the plants coming up in areas where last year there was nothing but Garlic Mustard. The thing about Garlic Mustard, you have to do this for a few years to win the battle. Every year we will have less to remove, and we may even get a chance to skip a year. The seed remains viable for at least 7 years. Its a biennial, which means it makes a rosette the first year and seeds the second. That also means if we have a warm early spring, we can pull out some of next years plants as well. There is a corner we missed last year that I plan to tackle personally, but the woodlot is small and we should be able to, with a little of your help, cover the whole thing. Garlic mustard comes up before the native plants, and makes a chemical that impairs the ability of the good guys to germinate. If we don’t pull it, it will eventually become the only ground cover. That is not a pretty sight. The E.C.F.N.C. worked very hard to protect this green space, please don’t let our labours, and raffles, and door to door fundraising be for naught. We start at 10, park behind the old Zellers (turn left (east) just before the Canadian Tire) on Erie Street south in Leamington. If it is drizzly, I will still be pulling. If it is raining, I will be out there the 15th. Come one, come all. Give your mother a bag of Garlic Mustard for Mother’s Day. Yes, you can eat it!
For additional details or better directions, email me at pjhurst@gosfieldtel.com or call 519-839-4635.

KOPEGARON WOODS CONSERVATION AREA HIKE
2016-05-01 13:00 UTC | Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Leamington, Canada
Join the Field Nats for a hike along one of the most beautiful forest boardwalk trails in the region. While exploring this 19 hectare Carolinian woodland, you’ll see Tulip-tree, Sassafras, Black Gum, Sycamore and Flowering Dogwood trees, as well as wildflowers such as Trillium, Jack-in-the-pulpit, May Apple, Spring Beauty and Columbine, to mention just a few. The boardwalk through the swampy areas has been completely rebuilt. Everyone is welcome!

22nd Annual Pelee Island Trip
2016-05-01 09:00 - 2016-05-02 17:45 UTC | Pelee Island, Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada
Trip is Full!
Leave at 10:00 am Saturday from Leamington Dock aboard the M.V. Jiimaan (be at the dock by 9:20 am). We will return to Leamington Dock by
5:45 pm Sunday. We will likely see: migrating waterfowl & warblers, wildflowers such as trilliums & phlox, basking turtles and snakes, bullfrogs, historic sites, and hear a chorus or two of American Toads, to suggest a few of the many enjoyable experiences on Pelee Island in spring. We should also get a chance to visit the Pelee Island Bird Observatory (PIBO bird banding station) and some of the recently acquired Nature Conservancy of Canada properties: Red Cedar Savannah ESA, Stone Road Alvar ANSI, Brown’s Point and woods, and Brown’s Road Alvar. We will have plenty of time to walk, observe, and relax on the excursions to some of Pelee’s most beautiful natural habitats, including: Fish Point Provincial Nature Reserve, Lighthouse Point Provincial Nature Reserve, the Stone Road Alvar Complex, Sheridan Point ESA, and many other stops along the way.
Contact Details:

Dave Kraus phone: 519 825 7491
email address: david.kraus@publicboard.ca
text: 519 257 8674

Earth Day Bake Sale
2016-04-24 10:00 - 15:00 UTC | Malden Park, 4200 Malden Rd, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Please join us at Malden Park for a Heritage Committee fundraiser 10:00a.m. To 3:00p.m. Looking for volunteers to donate bake goods and also help out at the booth. (You don’t need to belong to the Heritage Committee). Please contact Cathy Lapain at aclapain@gmail.com. We need a lot of bake goods to make this fundraiser a success, so please donate generously. If you can’t help by donating bake goods or helping out at the booth, please drop by and buy some goodies!
NOTE: If you are donating cookies or squares please packaged in 6’s or 12’s for easy pricing. Please cover all baked goods with clear plastic wrap.

Canada South Land Trust Annual Dinner and Silent Auction
2016-04-22 06:00 - 23:00 UTC | Caboto Club, 2175 Parent Ave, Windsor, Ontario, N8X 4K2, Canada
Dr. Oliver Love will be speaking about Snow Buntings. http://www1.uwindsor.ca/vpri/oliver-love The dinner will be at the Caboto Club. Doors open at 6, Dinner at 7. Tickets are $35. Please contact Betty Learmouth at 519-944-0825 or bettlear@mnsi.net or 2405 Princess Ave. Windsor N8T 2V1.

ESSEX COUNTY NATURE MEETING
2016-04-13 19:30 UTC | Ojibway Nature Centre, 5200 Matchette Rd., Windsor, Ontario, N9C 4E8, Canada
A representative from the Nature Conservancy of Canada will be at the Ojibway Nature Centre and will speak about NCC in southwestern Ontario. She will provide an overview of how NCC works and how NCC focuses its efforts, highlighting a few key areas and current projects, including Pelee Island and Essex County mainland. The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s approach to ecological restoration, properties to visit and volunteer opportunities will be profiled. Everyone is welcome!

SPRING BIRD WALK
2016-04-10 08:30 UTC | Point Pelee Vistor Centre Parking Lot, 1118 Point Pelee Dr, Leamington, Ontario, N8H 3V4, Canada
Meet ECFNC members in the Point Pelee Visitor Centre Parking Lot. We’ll hike the trails at Point Pelee in search of early spring migrants including waterfowl, warblers and other songbirds. After a lunch break, we’ll meet at Hillman Marsh in the early afternoon to explore the Shorebird Cell for early shorebirds/waterfowl. Everyone is welcome!
