📜 EwA Week Highlights: Closing in On 5,000 Species in MA, Front-Step Wildlife, an Early Fall Peeper & more
Mike McGlathery
Hello everyone!
Here’s the September 24th edition of EwA’s weekly highlights. EwA's biodiversity projects have been cruising through milestones this year - we are nearing 5,000 distinct species observed in Massachusetts! If you're out there observing in the next few weeks, you could be the one to observe our 5,000th species.
📸 First, we have this observation of a very photogenic spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) from Deana. It’s always a blessing when wildlife lets us get this close to observe, and Deana made the most of the opportunity!
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Deana Thomas · Scituate, RI · Sep. 16, 2022)
As I'm sure you know, a big part of EwA’s mission is to connect with the wildness all around us, even right at home in urban environments. Here’s a beautiful observation of a rain-glazed monarch butterfly chrysalis from right outside Claire’s doorstep! She's named it Chris (or Chrys?).
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill. · Somerville, MA · Sep. 20, 2022)
And lastly, we’ve got this observation of a marbled orbweaver (Araneus marmoreus) from Ale in South Deerfield. Orbweavers exhibit pronounced sexual dimorphism, with males being a fraction the size of females. While I can’t be certain of the scale of this photo, the plump, rounded abdomen makes me think this is most likely a female.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Ale E. · South Deerfield, MA · Sep. 20, 2022)
That’s all for this week. Happy fall--hope you're enjoying that crisp air.
-Mike
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 371 observations of 235 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 125,360 observations of 8,675 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 calendar [ 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.