Past Post: W. E. Saunders

Something else to read on these dismal days!

Last evening I came across something rather interesting while going through some family history items. It was a post card written by the ornithologist W. E. Saunders to John A. Link of Sombra, dated 17 May 1895.
I have had this card in my possession for many years, but had never really looked closely at it until last evening. John Link, as far as I can ascertain, was a half brother to my Great Great Grandfather Alexander Augustus Meyers. He was a carpenter and lived in Sombra. This morning I checked the cemetery and he is buried there in Sombra under the marker dated 1844-1902.
W. E. Saunders was asking about some Bluebirds that John Link had seen that year. He wanted to write an article in the Ottawa Field Naturalist.


John Link was known as a carpenter, and he supposedly built a unique multi-drawer cabinet that we still have. This cabinet sat in the basement of the house at Sombra for many years and contained an extensive collection of bird's eggs from the late 1800's. I donated these eggs to the ROM a year ago. Perhaps there is some "link" (no pun intended!) with these eggs and John Link, and an interest he may have had in birds.

Just by bizzarre coincidence, yesterday I picked up a book by W. E. Saunders at a used book store! It is History and List of Birds of Middlesex County, Ontario. I like going through these old books.

William Edwin Saunders (1861-1943) was the well-known ornithologist from London. He got started at an early age, as his father too, was interested in birds and nature.

Saunders was a pharmacist by trade and operated a drug store in London, but was heavily involved in collecting insects and birds.

The Ornithological Section of the Entomological Club eventually evolved into the McIlwraith Ornithological Club due to the efforts of Saunders. In 1970 it became the McIlwraith Field Naturalists of London. Just last year it became Nature London.

He was a member of many organizations such as the Wilson Ornithological Club and American Ornithologists' Union.
Also of note, W. E. Saunders was a founding member of the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (now Ontario Nature) and elected their first President.

Apparently he was the first, in 1882, to establish the notion of the importance of Point Pelee as a superior place to observe bird migration.

As well, Saunders was one of the first to recognize that Hawk Cliff near Port Stanley was a significant place to observe the fall migration of hawks.

W. E. Saunders accomplished many things in his life and to him we owe a great deal.

There is an excellent account (by David Wake) of the life of Saunders in the OFO publication, Ornithology of Ontario (1994).