Keep Calm and Bird On: March 2025
March 1, 2025
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
March is a transition time, when we expect the earliest of early spring migrants: Piping Plover, Ospreys, American Oystercatchers. It is also a time when some of our winter visitors will begin to think about heading north again: Harlequin Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Purple Sandpipers. So, it is a good time to catch up if there are gaps in your winter lists. Look for Iceland and Glaucous Gulls. This year, there is a Black-headed Gull to look for too. Or, if there is (ever) a calm night, listen for Woodcock.
But what if the weather is even more dreadful than usual? What if it’s just the usual suspects, day after day? Every birder goes though phases of interest, once the first excitement of learning the common birds for the season and locale is complete. What’s next? Some people go chasing further afield, travelling to exotic places for Toucans, Parrots, Manikins. This has the dual benefit of getting away to someplace warmer.
But what if you are not planning a trip? What if there is a sudden dearth of rarities to chase on Nantucket? Although we have been blessed with quite a few recently: Northern Lapwing, Tufted Duck, European Green-winged Teal. But, say you saw them all; what then?
If even the beacon-red head of a Eurasian Wigeon has lost its luster, watch behavior. Try to think like a bird, figure out what it is doing, and how it does it. You might notice one Red-breasted Merganser using the edge of a pond, with its little points and wrinkles, to trap fish against the shore as it herds them in. Or see a Great Blue Heron, usually so stately, make a lightning strike to nail an unexpected food, like a vole.
The thing about birds is: no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn.
Image by Trish Pastuszak
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NANTUCKET, MA—The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces its eleventh annual Nantucket Science Festival (AckSciFest) to be held March 15, 2025, in collaboration with over fifteen Nantucket community partner organizations. The MMA will host its FREE STEAM-inspired day of hands-on learning and exploration on Saturday, March 15 from 10:30am – 2pm, with the addition of a designated sensory-friendly hour, for diverse families, starting at 9:30am. This year’s theme focuses on “Waves of Discovery” and a mission to engage the Nantucket community in intersectional STEAM experiences. This event exemplifies the MMA’s mission of creating opportunities for all to develop a life-long passion for science through education, research, and first-hand exploration of the sky, land, and sea of Nantucket Island. This festival has become the largest late winter event in our community! This year, the festival will reinforce discovery by collaborating with a diverse portfolio of community partners to demonstrate the diversity of STEAM. “We are thrilled to return for yet another year with an intersectional festival offering,” said Jónelle Gurley, coordinator of AckSciFest and Director of Science and Programs at the MMA. “The enthusiasm of our collaborators each year certainly drives the community engagement and interest.” This year’s community partner organizations include: the Artists Association of Nantucket, Egan Maritime Institute, Girl Scouts - Nantucket, Linda Loring Nature Foundation, Mass Audubon, Nantucket Atheneum, Nantucket Community School, Nantucket Conservation Foundation, Nantucket Dreamland, Nantucket Fire Department, Nantucket Police Department, Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket Land and Water Council, Nantucket Islands Land Bank, Nantucket Lights, Nantucket New School, Nantucket Shellfish Association, Oika, UMASS Boston Field Station Nantucket, US Coast Guard Station Brant Point, Nantucket S.T.A.R, and Sustainable Nantucket. All will be highlighting the incredible opportunities to discover STEAM on Nantucket. This event is FREE of charge and takes place at the Nantucket High School Gymnasium. Attendees will be able to participate in a range of hands-on activities and experiences. This year’s activities include, but are not limited to, “Ice Painting,” “Oceans: Waves for All Story Walk,” “Solutions for Plastic Pollution,” “Ocean Sensory Bins,” “My Summer Garden,” “Bird Banding Bonanza,” “The Unbel-Eeel-vable Adventure,” “Mobile Touch Tank Exploration,” “Waves in Action,” “The Simple Machines that Power the Olde Mill,” and many sensory crafts, general chemistry and astronomy related activities, and engineering and space exploration fun. The Nantucket Public Safety Departments will also be present for “Touch a Cruiser” and “Touch a Truck” and the US Coast Guard Station (USCG) Brant Point will be in attendance to display coming lifesaving gear and a trailered USCG vessel. The Nantucket Science Festival is made possible thanks to the generosity of its volunteers, partner organizations, and generous sponsors. ABOUT THE NANTUCKET SCIENCE FESTIVAL Founded in 2015, the Nantucket Science Festival is a mid-March collaborative community event, featuring hands-on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics activities. It is an initiative of the Maria Mitchell Association in partnership with various Nantucket non-profit organizations, schools, and businesses. For more information, please visit https://www.mariamitchell.org/nantucket-science-festival The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages ###
Thursday, Mch. 4 {1869} My dear Sally, Father seems better again today and the Doctor thinks it merely a “flurry.” But he is so feeble that any “flurry” is a serious thing. He has been up an hour today, has eaten a little dinner in bed. I slept in his room last night and shall whenever it is necessary. MM. William Mitchell died a little over a month later on April 19, 1869. He had lived with Maria at Vassar College from the day she began her tenure – he was the one who encouraged her to take the job – the one who told her they really wanted to hire her and that they were not just looking for her opinion of a new women’s college. He had in fact lived with her in Lynn, Massachusetts as well. The two of them left Nantucket after Lydia Coleman Mitchell’s death in 1861. Maria gave the only bedroom in the Observatory to her father for his use – feeling it was more appropriate that way and in deference to her father, her elder. This did cause some issues – Maria was forced to make-do with by using a settee in one of the sitting areas off the dome making for a cold and non-private space. She also found that if her father needed her, she could not hear him since he was on the ground floor – on the other side of the Observatory. JNLF
NANTUCKET, MA—The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces that it will host Pam Murphy and Kim Shulam of the Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket (MMAN), as featured presenters for its February Science Speaker Series. Their presentation will take place on Wednesday, February 26 at 7pm via Zoom. This event is free to all. Join Pam Murphy, the MMAN Executive Director, and Kim Schulam, the MMAN Vice President and Stranding Coordinator, in a discussion on the importance of seals and other marine mammals in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem, and how we can all help keep these populations safe. The mission of the Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket is to monitor, rescue, and protect marine mammals on Nantucket, advocate for their well-being, and educate the public. MMAN belongs to the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and is among thirteen organizations dedicated to protecting, rescuing, and advocating marine mammals along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine. You can learn more about the animals they rescue, their partner teams, useful tips, and statistical maps here: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5d29b842996d44eea0c4517f71ecca4d Pam Murphy has been involved in animal rescue for many years, from creating a Be Kind to Animals Club at the age of seven, to being one of the founders of Nantucket Island Safe Harbor for Animals (NiSHA) in 2011; serving eight years as board president. Her extensive board experience with TWN, NiSHA, and NAC put her in a solid position to manage MMAN’s board and see it develop into a stronger organization, capable of attracting the donor support the mission deserves. A lifelong vegetarian, Pam has never been able to stand idly by when an animal is suffering. To be allowed to approach injured and entangled marine mammals legally and help was what drew her to MMAN. She became Level A trained, learning to restrain and disentangle seals and went on to attend a Cetacean Stranding Workshop with IFAW. “I have learned a great deal about marine mammals and how to help through the vast knowledge of my teammates.” Kim Schulam began visiting Nantucket in 2013 and fell in love with the remote, natural qualities of the island. A Biological Sciences major in college, she initially considered the fields of Marine Biology or Veterinary Medicine but ultimately pursued a career as a Physician’s Assistant. Now retired from medicine, she met former Stranding Coordinator Scott Leonard and learned of MMAN. She immediately joined the team and became Level A trained. She regularly attends IFAW’s Marine Mammal Mass Stranding training, and is 24-Hour HAZWOPER certified for oil spill wildlife rescue. Now a full-time resident of Nantucket, she serves as the team’s Stranding Coordinator and Board Vice President. She coordinated MMAN’s first team-conducted large whale necropsy last year and works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to maintain the team’s Stranding Agreement as Nantucket's sole agency legally permitted to handle marine mammals. She feels strongly that humans have an obligation to marine life to help them survive given all we have done to injure them and destroy their environment. Pre-registration is required to attend Zoom. To register for Zoom, use the registration link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7UnSEop1RKyxgl0LBio2Kw#/registration This series is generously sponsored by our lead sponsor, Bank of America. The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages ###