Annual Dinner - November 7, 2026

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 [...]

By Carl Maiolani Pop-up #11 @ Hillman Marsh on Sunday March 26th 10am My list of 8 attendees is as follows: Jeremy Hatt, Howard Williams, Carl Maiolani, Jeremy Bensette, Larry Onysko, Nicole Dumouchelle and potential new members Marilyn Miller and Darren Hughes. This event lasted from 10-12pm despite the weather. It was cold, damp, windy, and snowy the whole time. Nevertheless we had a great time. We walked out to the shorebird cell and immediately [...]

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 [...]

By Chris Hart The ECFNC is a community based club promoting the excellence and the enjoyment of our local environment. As such, we often give back to those organizations whom align with these beliefs. One such contribution is the Lynda Corkum Essex County Nature Bursary, which is awarded to a Biology graduate student at the University of Windsor. This is a $1000 donation made possible from funds acquired selling the Fish Book. We are pleased [...]