By Howard Williams

The Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club (ECFNC) organizes semi-regular pop-ups throughout the year that are informal gatherings at places of natural historical interest.  The rationale behind pop-ups is to introduce members and others to a specific site, to encourage observation of the natural history and to facilitate social intercourse and networking.  Furthermore, thanks to Carl Maiolani, who amongst other things has a gift of generally providing good weather.

When I arrived in Windsor last Fall having migrated from Nova Scotia, the pop-ups were one of the only events in which I could participate safely, outdoors, maskless by choice but keeping my physical distance from others as and when necessary.  Moving to a new city is not easy during a pandemic, so the pop-ups were a wonderful introduction to a new social network with which I had a common interest.

The pop-ups also introduced me to new areas for birding and wildflower observation.  I knew about Ojibway and Point Pelee from previous visits to southwest Ontario, but the others, such as Kopegaron, Maidstone, Black Oak, and Devonwood were a delightful revelation.  One of the joys of being retired was that I could visit these places in a disciplined way, every week or two, to observe seasonal changes and understand the rhythm of nature, especially during Spring, when plants and birds appear and disappear so rapidly.

As an example of participation of a pop-up, the following is a write up of an event held at Maidstone Conservation Area on 13th May 2022.  A beautiful warm sunny evening saw a select group of Essex County Field Naturalist’s Club members visit Maidstone Conservation Area, a little gem of a place that contains a wealth of wildflowers and birds.  We were far from disappointed by what we were hearing, smelling and seeing between 6.30 p.m. and dusk.  At least 16 species of birds were recognised, including Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Great Crested Flycatcher.  Over 25 species of wildflowers and small trees were recognised, including some notable examples of Wild Ginger that was showing its flowers perfectly, as was Large Flowered Bellwort.  

Much discussion centered around specific identification of wildflowers, some of which have yet to be confirmed.  We remarked on the occurrence at Maidstone of a planted Redbud (Cercis canadensis) a leguminous tree that has Canada implied in its name but does not now occur here naturally.  According to Waldron (Trees of the Carolinian Forest), a single specimen was reclaimed by Lake Erie from the southern tip of Pelee Island.  Back in the late 19th century it was only in the extreme south of Ontario that it was naturally distributed.  Readers are invited to explain this anomaly, including why websites such as the Catalogue of Life does not say when it was named, and by whom: (Catalogue of Life : Cercis canadensis L.), presumably a Canadian.  We were piped out of the woodland by a Wood Thrush chorus that was setting a peaceful melancholic tone before a magnificent sunset.

These conservation and other areas of natural habitat also allow the all too apparent negative aspects of living in a large city such as noise, drugs, and litter, to be offset by the beauty of nature.

Well done ECFNC, pop-ups are just the best idea, except on websites.