📜 EwA Week Highlights: Robins, Salamander Eggs & Maple Blossoms

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights April 12, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the April 12th EwA highlights. I feel personally responsible for bringing the coating of snow we got this morning with my musing about being past the final frost of the year last week. 📸 Just like last week, our many naturalists are out on the field observing seasonal changes in flora. Things are changing by the day; this week, many more blooming red maples (Acer rubrum) were observed than the week before. Freddie observed this open red maple blossom in Medford yesterday. EwA Pheno Lite Record (© @freddiekim · Medford, MA · Apr. 11, 2025)  The beginning of spring is marked by the onset of activity in New England’s vernal pools and other small water bodies. Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are one of the key species for identifying active vernal pools - they are considered obligate species of vernal pools, meaning their life cycle requires the presence of a vernal pool in which to lay their eggs. While this is broadly true, as with almost everything in ecology there are exceptions to the rule. Spotted salamanders do sometimes lay their eggs in small streams as well, and Kat observed an instance of this exception this week. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Kathleen R Shea · Union, CT · Apr. 11, 2025)  The winter firefly (Ellychnia corrusca) was finally dethroned this week as EwA’s most observed species, with the American robin (Turdus migratorius) taking the top spot. The robin is held to be a harbinger of spring, and while robins generally do migrate southward in the winter, the species is present year-round in the Boston area. Hansen observed this robin on Thursday. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Hansen Zheng · Groton, MA · Apr. 10, 2025)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this week, totaling 438 observations of 233 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 228,676 observations of 12,406 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