By Jeremy Hatt
On November 18, the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club joined up w/ the Windsor Feminist Bird Club to host a Big Sit at the Delaurier parking lot in Point Pelee National Park.
A Big Sit is as fun as it sounds! The basic idea is for birders stay in one spot, often in a comfortable chair, for an extended period to watch all the birds that fly by or over and count the total number of species and individual birds. We chose the Delaurier parking lot as it is a big open space w/ a good clear view of the sky. Migrating waterfowl, raptors, and passerines all fly over this area of the park and so it’s a great place to get a good variety of birds. Mid-November sees good movements of raptors like Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, and Northern Harrier, blackbirds, and finches like American Goldfinch, Purple Finch, and Pine Siskin to name a few.
In total we had 18 people in attendance and for many, this was their first time to an ECFNC event. This is also the first time ECFNC has partnered w/ the Windsor Feminist Bird Club, a connection that will hopefully result in more join events in the future! The Mission of The Feminist Bird Club is to “promote inclusivity and provide a safe opportunity for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, BIPOC, and women to connect with the natural world.” This mission aligns w/ the aim of ECFNC’s outreach to the community.
The Big Sit started w/ introductions to both organizations and the volunteers who helped put together the event. We are grateful to Starbucks in Leamington for donating coffee for the event and snacks including cookies, croissants, and brownies were also provided to attendees. We birded from 9am to 12pm w/ a walk led by the Windsor Feminist Bird Club around the Delaurier Trail midway through the Big Sit.
Highlights included 8 migrating Tundra Swans, several small groups of marsh and sea ducks overhead, 8 Red-shouldered Hawks, large flocks of Cedar Waxwings, Pine Siskins (200!), American Goldfinch, Snow Buntings, and blackbirds, and a good assortment of sparrows on the Delaurier Trail. For those that sat to the very end, the reward was a juvenile Golden Eagle soaring directly overhead five minutes before we packed up.
This event was a great chance to meet new people and socialize w/ warm coffee and snacks while enjoying the crisp November air and letting the birds come to us. A big thank you to the Windsor Feminist Bird Club for helping host the event and leading a walk around the trails. You can learn more about the Feminist Bird Club and their various Chapters including Windsor at www.feministbirdclub.org.
You must be logged in to post a comment.