Annual Dinner - November 7, 2026

By Don Bissonnette    In the Spring of 1989, I found a nesting pair of Eastern Bluebirds near Harrow, Ont. This surprised me, because I knew they were extirpated in many areas. I spoke with some members of our club, & I learned that Essex County did have a very small population of Bluebirds, mostly in the Southern half of the County.    I learned that other Nature Clubs (both in Canada & the United [...]

Part of the Detroit River Binational Program By Ian Naisbitt It has been 2 ½ years since volunteers participated in a Little River Cleanup Event. On Saturday, 9 April, the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup and the Essex Region Conservation Authority invited Essex County Nature to join community volunteers to clean up a well-known section of Little River. The segment needing a “Spring Cleaning” flows adjacent to the Canadian Tire Store on Tecumseh Road East. The [...]

By Howard Williams For grandparenting reasons, Carole Donaldson and I moved to Windsor in October of last year and we have often been greeted by 'Welcome to Windsor'.  We specifically settled close to Jackson Park, specifically for dog walking but imagine our delight when we experienced all the other aspects of that park: the many over-wintering birds followed by the spring-flowering trees and migrant birds (see photos from Jackson of Killdeer, Great Crested Flycatcher, Cooper's [...]

By Karen Alexander Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most invasive terrestrial mammals worldwide. They are native to Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Spread of wild pigs has been primarily through human introduction; they are also expanding through natural dispersal.  Wild pigs have a broad geographic range and can easily adapt and survive in new environments due to their high fecundity (large number of offspring produced), early sexual maturity, varied diet, long lifespans, and highly adaptive nature. They are one of the most damaging invasive species in the United States and are [...]

By Karen Alexander Native Phragmites is an important component of a healthy wetland ecosystem.  It grows amongst other macrophytes in marshes and unlike the invasive Phragmites, does not typically develop into dense monocultures or degrade habitat quality.   Across the Great Lakes region, native Phragmites has disappeared from wetlands because of the more competitive invasive Phragmites and there is a concern that the native population is being removed from wetlands due to well-meaning control measures targeting invasive plants.   Fortunately, variation does exist between [...]