Mike McGlathery
Hello everyone!
Here’s the October 22nd edition of EwA’s weekly highlights.
📸 First this week, we have another beautiful bird photo from Dan, this time of a downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens). Downies don’t bore into the wood of trees like many larger woodpeckers, and instead glean insects from the nooks and crannies in the bark. I feel like I can see the focus in this bird’s eye as it forages.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Daniel Onea · East Boston, MA · Oct. 16, 2022)
Next, we have this pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris) from Ale. These frogs secrete a toxin when disturbed which can kill other amphibians and irritate potential predators, making them America’s only native poisonous frog. It’s the end of the active season for these animals, which will soon burrow into the mud at the bottoms of ponds to hibernate.
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Ale E. · Conway, MA · Oct. 21, 2022)
Last, we have this observation of a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) from Christine. I love photos like this, in which you can clearly see the bee’s tongue reaching into the flower, and I’m thankful to have these highlights as a platform to show off great pictures of insect morphology. There’ll be less of those in the winter months to come, but we can look forward to more in the spring!
EwA iNaturalist Record (© Christine Tuccelli · Wourn, MA · Oct. 19, 2022)
📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this past week, totaling 371 observations of 237 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 128,676 observations of 8,802 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 [ 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.
That’s all for this week—hope you have a good one!
-Mike