Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading the February 17th edition of the EwA highlights.
📸 Deana spotted one of New England’s first signs of spring this week - the flower of the eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). As I’ve mentioned in the highlights before, this strange-looking flower can show up so early in the year because it is thermogenic—it creates its own heat, preventing it from freezing.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Deana Tempest Thomas · Waltham, MA · Feb. 2024)
This beautiful common merganser (Mergus merganser) was spotted at Horn Pond by Heather on Sunday. Much like other fish-eating ducks, these birds become most apparent to us in winter when they travel to the open bodies of water that serve as their winter feeding grounds. In the spring, these birds will nest largely in tree cavities and become much more secretive.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© aussies2 · Woburn, MA · Feb. 11, 2024)
This week, EwA had three species at the top of the observation list: the American robin (Turdus migratorious), the downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), and the black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). Jessica observed this chickadee on Wednesday. The plasticity of chickadees’ brains has become famous in recent years. In preparation for winter, the chickadee’s hippocampus (which plays a major role in learning and memory) grows dramatically as it caches the food it will depend on in the colder months. When spring comes around and the memory of these caches is no longer useful, the hippocampus returns to its previous size.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill · Stoneham, MA · Jan. 27, 2023)
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 217 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 173,363 observations of 10,575 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
