Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading the April 13th edition of the EwA highlights. This time of year, our community is largely focused on phenology (the study of biological seasonal changes and their timing), and it certainly showed in your observations this week!
📸 The first observation I have isn’t quite so phenological—it’s simply a cool picture of a barred owl (Strix varia) that Deana spotted this week. As iconic as the image is, it’s not often you encounter an owl staring back at you from a tree hole like this.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Deana Tempest Thomas · North Scituate, RI · Apr. 12, 2024)
Our next observation chiefly concerns insect (as opposed to plant) phenology. Claire observed these eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americana) on Thursday, and they look like they have hatched quite recently. These caterpillars can be useful for studying the links between arthropod and plant phenology, as they tend to hatch right around the time one of their preferred host plants, the black cherry (Prunus serotina), begins to leaf out.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill · Woburn, MA · Apr. 11, 2024)
EwA’s most-observed species this week was the red maple (Acer rubrum). The blossoming of the red maple is an important phenological milestone in spring, as it is one of the first trees to flower around here. And that’s exactly what our naturalists were observing this week: blossoming red maples such as this one, documented by Sara!
EwA iNaturalist Record (© gsarajg · Cambridge, MA · Apr. 8, 2024)
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 274 observations of 195 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 176,735 observations of 10,686 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 Spring [ 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
