One of our favorite sightings this weekend at the Fresh Pond Reservoir, where we went birding. Here a female cardinal and a white-throated sparrow in very close vicinity 💚

Of course, by now we’ve recorded our sightings and here are the details:

☆ eBird records » https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50367635

☆ iNat sighting records » https://tinyurl.com/120118-ewa-iNat-birdin-records.

Enjoy! ツ

#nature #birding #ecology #wildlife #wildlifeWatching #naturePhotography #citizenScience #ornithology #reservoirs #urbanWildlife #conservation #biodiversity

🐿️ What a better way to celebrate World Biodiversity Day than with launching a local outreach program that celebrates it all year long! 💚

We’re excited to announce our new Nature Circles program ‘EwA at the Fells’ — A program collaboration with the Friends of the Fells 🌰 All year long we will run 2 series: The Fells’ Biobliss » Biodiversity & Citizen Science 🍃, and The Fells Naturalists & Sketchers Circle 🎨.

Both series foster awareness of species and habitat biodiversity, and develops an understanding of the importance of ecology, phenology, ethics while helping science through citizen science. Together, we’ll explore, sketch and document the diverse habitats and wildlife that make this urban forest a true gem, and a wonderful means to get us closer to Nature and ourselves. Come join us!

Learn more » https://www.earthwiseaware.org/ewa-at-the-fells/

WorldBiodiversityDay #biodiversity #nature #conservation #education #citizenScience #ecology #natureJournaling #ecocentrism

🌿 The @citnatchallenge #species recording period is over! What a cool challenge this was! More so because we got the chance to do it with kind and very curious citizen scientists. Here is a small selection of our favorite pics & sightings ( » )

The next 4 days, the iNat community will try to identify the 2 or 3 hundreds of observations that we recorded (besides the hundreds of thousands more recorded by the iNaturalists)… We can’t wait to learn more about the species that we could not name. This is what is great with the iNat platform: discovering, learning while helping a great community of scientists!

All our sightings are recorded in the iNaturalist EwA Nature Circles Project ( » ).
Don't be shy, come and participate in our EwA Nature Circles (join our project)!

iNaturalist #CityNatureChallenge #citizenScience #Bioblitz #biodiversity #conservation

🌿 2 #citynaturechallenge2018 (Boston area) events so far! We lost connection within a few minutes yesterday after getting on the trail, but that did not stop us to survey the dunes and the coastal woodland very thoroughly. We'll log all that within the challenge 4-days! Today, we did another informal bioblitz at the Fells: same we have tons of good pics that we'll upload tomorrow after our next bioblitz event at Bellevue pond in Medford on Sunday (check our events calendar for details). Come and join us!

04/29/18 Bioblitz event details » here.

citizenScience #biodiversity #natureconservation #bioblitz #nature #ecology #naturephotography

🦉 Today's Nature Circle was a success in that we had a wonderful day on our shores, and we got to observe many beautiful bird species: surf scoters, buffleheads, cormorants, common loons and so much more...

But no we did not get to spot this winter snowy owl resident. Sorry, they don't sit around waiting for us to catch a glimpse of them but rather simply do as they please and that's the way we like it! One year we made 4 trips in bitter cold before being granted to spot 2 gorgeous ones (a male, and a female or juvenile in 2 different locations)!

Well then, trying again will be on our calendar for the next snowy owl nature circle, then! (end of Feb most likely). Who's in? 😁

If you're in our area (Massachusetts), check our EwA Nature Circles and join us! »

And it was a Success! ❄️

As soon as we arrived, we discussed with birders coming from Lot 1 (the beach side). We asked what they'de seen: razorbills, herring gulls, short-eared owl, etc. Then we asked if they'd seen a 'snowy'... they hadn't. So we informed them that there was probably one (according to our recent sightings tracking) on the left side (in the marsh). The time to scan the left horizon, and here it was cross the marsh!

We'll check our pics and share the good ones - they're not great as it was a far sighting in windy conditions. But it was so worth it, magical and a first for our new EwA volunteer, Shilpa! 💚

If you're in our area (Massachusetts), check our EwA Nature Circles and join us! »

🍂 It was a gorgeous day to turn a black Friday into a green EwA nature circle. We spent few hours exploring our woods! Leafy brain, tons of polypores and gilled mushrooms, sumac and remnants of goldenrods, countless oaks in their last shedding spree, and so many birds —including nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, warblers, jays, and a lovely Downy woodpecker pair. Our last sighting before leaving was one of a red-tailed hawk soaring...

What a feast for the eyes and the heart this was! 💚
» EwA Nature Circles

Lovely mushroom walk at a local wildlife habitat this morning. 🍄

We got to talk a little about the Northern Tooth fungus. Look at it closely and you’ll see that it has no gills. Instead, it has a series of dagger-like projections, or "teeth". The teeth produce a greater amount of surface area than gills resulting in the greater production of spores. This is necessary because so few spores find their way to a perfect host.

Although the vast majority of mushrooms are beneficial to plants and hosts, this one is a 'toughty: it is basically eating this tree alive. This tree doesn’t have much more to live. The fungus made its way up, and now it is high probably because it depleted this tree of its nutrient down below and inside, causing what’s known as ‘heart rot’. If you look up that tree (a sugar maple probably), it is definitely on its way out.

fungi #mushroom #decomposers #mycology #nature #naturePhotography #aWalkInTheWood #EwANaturalistCorner

 
We are putting together an Earthwise Aware (EwA) Nature Program called: EwA Nature Circles.

An EwA Nature Circle is essentially a Nature focus group where you and your companions engage purposefully in activities that are centered on Nature with us as being part of ‘it’. We also call such groups: experience or learning circles. Our circles develop and exercise naturalist and ecology skills paired with both art and ethics.

You can either join a circle if you know of some operating in your area, or you can create one and invite others to join.

Here this iNaturalist project is dedicated to any EwA circle member in the world so that they share their observations and findings to the EwA community at large. Doing this we help spread an enthusiasm and information about the species that we want to see protected and loved.

Check our website (www.earthwiseaware.org) for more info about what we do at Earthwise Aware, and this program specifically!