📜 EwA Week Highlights: Notes From a Frozen Week

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights January 26, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the January 26th EwA highlights. We remain in a deep freeze, and that’s reflected in what our naturalists are observing out in the field. 📸 Cold snaps, such as the one in which we find ourself now, make winter hard to survive for many animals. Beyond purely maintaining body heat, the cold can severely curb access to food for many animals, such as this great blue heron (Ardea herodias) observed by Heather. Some herons remain in Massachusetts through the winter, but many migrate away, and this week illuminates the reason for that. Herons usually depend upon shallow, open water as their hunting grounds, and all the ice makes that much harder to find. This heron has found a small sliver of open water in which to hunt. EwA iNaturalist Record (© aussies2 · Woburn, MA · Jan. 18, 2025)  The fact that we’ve had continuous snow cover for a bit means that you can practice identifying animal tracks. Some animals, such as the fisher (Pekania pennanti) are relatively common forest residents but not seen very often by people due to their reclusive habits, and looking for their tracks can help confirm their presence. Bill observed these tracks in the Middlesex Fells last weekend. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Bill MacIndewar · Stoneham, MA · Jan. 18, 2025)  There were a few bird species tied for the title of most-observed by EwA again this week, including the downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens). I enjoy watching the methodical manner in which these birds search the crevices of tree bark for the insects they eat. This time of year, when insects can be scarce, downy woodpeckers eat some seeds and berries as well. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Bill MacIndewar · Woburn, MA · Jan. 21, 2024)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this week, totaling 199 observations of 119 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 223,428 observations of 12,160 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 Winter [ 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) It’s a great time to join our monitoring programs. 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