The Belmont-based organization Earthwatch recently invited members and friends to participate in a “BioBlitz,” a three-day event which challenged city-dwellers throughout the country to record species found in the urban environment.  It’s kind of an amazing crowd-sourced citizen-science project; I understand that 69 cities across the globe are taking part.  The scheduled activities this morning in Cambridge included two walks at the Fresh Pond Reservation led by a City of Cambridge Water Department Ranger.

We were all encouraged to come with our smart phones and throughout the morning, upload  our observations to the iNaturalist web site (there is an app for both Android and iOS).  Insofar as I don’t have a smart phone, I brought my cheap little camera and a notebook, and that was fine.

Ranger Jean Rogers led about 25 of us along a path through Lusitania Meadow for the first hour, and then around Black’s Nook Pond for the second hour.  She’s a trained observer and natural teacher — we were lucky to have her as our guide.  I think I captured the common names of most of what we saw, which I’ve organized into groups.

Plants – Arborvitae, Bedstraw, Bittersweet, Bluebell, Burdock, Buttonbush, Cattail, Clethra (alnifolia is sweet pepperbush), Common Mugwort, Dandelion, Dog Hobble, Duckweed, Fern, Garlic Mustard, Golden Alexander, Goldenrod, Grapevine, Hackberry, Hummock Grass, Juneberry (Amelanchier–has other common names such as shadbush), Lupine, Marsh Marigold, May Apple, Mullein, Nettle, Poison Ivy, Pussy Willow, Sassafras, Staghorn Sumac, Tansy, Wild Cucumber, Wild Onion, Thistle, Trillium, Violet, Witch Hazel, Yarrow

Trees – American Elm (grows in wet soil), Ash, Beech (propagate by cloning, subject to beech bark disease), Black Cherry (bark looks like burnt potato chips) Black Walnut, Box Elder (also called ash-leaved maple), Cottonwood, Crab Apple, Eastern White Pine (5 needles), Fir (smooth needles), Gray Birch, Ironwood, Larch (deciduous conifer), Ornamental Pear, Red Cedar, Red Maple, Red Pine, Shagbark Hickory, Spruce (spiky needles), Sycamore (old giant trees often have hollow trunks), Tulip Tree, Tupelo, White Oak

Insects and other Invertebrates – Ant, Bark Beetle (creates intricate patterns in tree bark), Cabbage White Butterfly, Click Beetle, Earthworm (invasive in woodlands), Milkweed Bug, Pillbug, Snail, Wasp (see nest below), Water Strider

Fish – Largemouth Bass, Bullhead, Carp, Perch, Pickerel

Amphibian – Frog, Toad (hibernate in leaf litter during winter)

Reptile – Turtle

Birds – Cardinal (call is “cheer, cheer, cheer”), Flicker, Grackle, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Raven (larger than a crow), Red-Tailed Hawk, Red-Winged Blackbird, Robin, Song Sparrow, Swallow

Mammals – Squirrel

Although they don’t look like what you find in a florist’s shop, these are pussy willows:

Jean is holding the pod of a wild cucumber:

This paper wasp’s nest is not currently occupied:

Mullein grow mostly in the ground, but this one took root in a fallen tree:

The May Apple fruit is poisonous:

You can see a small turtle on the tree branch to the right:

The bright yellow flowers of the Marsh Marigold are a harbinger of spring:

These look like the fiddlehead ferns you see in the produce section of grocery stores in the spring:

We walked the loop trail around Lusitania Meadow (named for the Portuguese community who used to play soccer on this site — Lusitania was the name of the province of the Roman Empire which includes much of modern Portugal):

The water in Black’s Nook Pond looks turbid this morning, rather than clear, due to the recent rain:

It was such a beautiful late spring morning, and I enjoyed learning about all the nature that can be found in the city.