Annual Dinner - November 8, 2025

By Mark Nenadov The Birth of a Project Let’s time travel. We’re time-machining to 1992 and I’m writing for the Fall 1992 issue of The Egret. I’m pitching the concept of iNaturalist and eBird. If I’m lucky, The Egret will print it right after a curious note on page two about the reintroduction of Wild Turkeys to Essex County. Imagine that! Wild Turkeys roaming Essex County–can’t wait to add them to my county list back [...]

By Jeremy Hatt When I heard that the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) was holding its first Pride Bird Walk in Toronto, I knew immediately that I had to hold a similar outing in Essex County. On June 18th, in partnership w/ the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club, OFO held its second Pride Bird Walk at Ojibway Park in Windsor. Group photo taken by Liberal MP, Irek Kusmierczyk.  I am very grateful that ECFNC and OFO are [...]

By Paul Pratt Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Spring Garden Prairie, and Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve are the best locations for observing native wildflowers in September and October. Common fall flowers are indicated by an asterisk (*). Autumn foliage usually peaks in early-mid October. ASTERACEAE New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Ambrosia artemisiifolia Common RagweedAmbrosia trifida Giant RagweedSymphyotrichum cordifolium Heart-leaved AsterSymphyotrichum ericoides Heath Aster*Symphyotrichum laeve Smooth Aster*Symphyotrichum lateriflorum Calico AsterSymphyotrichum novae-angliae New England Aster*Symphyotrichum oolentangiense Sky-blue [...]

By Howard Williams This essay describes changes in the way nature may be observed and recorded, especially in light of recently-developed naturalist platforms, and discusses issues relating to how we monitor the natural environment. In the 19th century, Henry David Thoreau, not a scientist, made detailed observations of the timing of the natural environment around Walden Pond (USA).  At about the same time, numerous citizen scientists, mostly clerics and schoolteachers, assisted Charles Darwin by providing [...]

By Jennifer Nantais In North American, World Migratory Bird Day is held on the second Saturday of May. This annual campaign highlights the need to protect and conserve migratory birds and their habitat, and to raise awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them. Celebrating World Migratory Bird Day can be an effective tool because in order to sustain migrating species their homes [...]