📜 EwA Week Highlights: Dutchman's Breeches, Rove Beetles, EwA in the news & more
Mike McGlathery
Hello everyone!
The balmy spring weather has already brought out a whole host of species which showed up in our iNat feed this week. Our community observed exactly 100 more species this week than it did last week. That's not the only thing exciting we've got going on—EwA recently made an appearance in the Boston Globe. More on that below.
📸 The progression of spring brings with it a dazzling array of spring ephemerals (plants that grow and bloom quickly in the spring, then die back). Among our native ephemerals is the Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), which Jen spotted on Thursday.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Jennifer Clifford · Massachusetts · Apr. 7, 2022)
The vast array of arthropod life that becomes active during the summer months is beginning to stir, and it’s showing up in our iNat records. This week, Claire documented this Rove Beetle (Family Staphylinidae) sighting in Somerville. The rove beetle family is a great example of insect diversity, containing about 63,000 species worldwide.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Claire O’Neill· Medford, MA · Apr. 9, 2022)
We still have lots of great observations coming in from our vernal pool project. This week, Joe documented this sighting of a spotted salamander, as well as a spotted salamander egg mass.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Joe Macindewar · Massachusetts · April 2022)
Next, we’ve got a field dispatch from Claire, as well as an exciting appearance in the local press!
Another wonderful group of brave and enthusiastic guests led by awesome EwA naturalists! Thanks to all who joined Saturday's Fells Forest Exploration event.
This week, EwA was mentioned in this OpEd in the Boston Globe. We're honored. Thanks, Daniel, for mentioning our work and community. And thanks for being part of EwA's community of incredible citizen scientists and naturalists!
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 495 observations of 246 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 97,875 observations of 7,671 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 Program [ 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)
Spring schedule: We are picking up the monitoring pace, and moving from a monthly to every other week monitoring at all sites. 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 it for this week—until next time!
-Mike