📜 EwA Week Highlights: Monarch Chrysalis, Cambridge Science Festival, & more
Mike McGlathery
Hello everyone!
Here’s the October 15th edition of EwA’s weekly highlights.
📸 First, we have this observation from Claire of the monarch (Danaus plexipus) chrysalis she’s been tracking. It’s so cool how you can so clearly see its wings and the rest of its anatomy! At the top of the chrysalis is the monarch’s quite enlarged abdomen, which is full of fluid it will use to pump its wings when it emerges.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill · Somerville, MA · Oct. 10, 2022)
Next we have this witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) flower from Bill. While most flowering plants are either long past flowering or just finishing up, it’s the beginning of the flowering season for witch hazel.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Bill Macindewar · Melrose, MA · Oct. 12, 2022)
And last, we have this observation of a common loon (Gavia immer) from Jen. Loons migrate away from their freshwater breeding habitats to overwinter in marine environments. While the winter range of loons extends as far south as the coast of Mexico, many loons do not fly very far south at all, overwintering as far north as the Maritimes and Newfoundland. This loon was observed near Acadia National Park in Maine.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Jennifer Clifford · Bar Harbor, ME · Oct. 8, 2022)
Our EwA members had a wonderful time tabling at the Cambridge Science Festival this week, with many curious kids and adults dropping by! It was great to connect with the larger science community this way, and conservation interests seemed a little underrepresented at the event, so EwA was proud to be there.
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 406 observations of 249 distinct species. If you’re curious about the records from this week that have been validated by the iNat community so far, you can find them » here.
🏆 Running tally: To date, we have recorded 128,006 observations of 8,795 distinct species! Check out our EwA umbrella project, see the details per site/observer, and more » here.
📅 EwA Upcoming Public Events
Ewa Field Events » Check the EwA Fall [ Event details and registration » ] Don’t miss some great opportunities to follow the rhythm of the season in our local habitats and in the local wildlife! Space is limited for all our field events. Wildlife ethics is important to us and we seek to avoid putting the pressure on natural habitats which large gatherings unavoidably do. We are asking our audience to register-and-commit (or cancel when you know you can’t come) to avoid no-shows.
EwA Fieldwork (and Resources)
Peak schedule: Our monitoring programs are in full swing, and are occurring every week this time of year. Check EwA’s Volunteer Program Calendar 📅 to know when things happen. And if a session is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to get the rendezvous location.
📅 EwA Sites Map | 🌱 Site Protocols and Guides · Field Rosters · Field Notes » All here! | ℹ️ More about EwA’s Citizen Science Program » Here
❓ Do you have any questions? Don’t be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.
That’s all for this week—hope you have a good one!
-Mike