Urban Species Winter Recap
We are done with the winter (according to the calendar) until the last week of the year. Here's a breakdown of what the Urban Species were:
Birds: 36
Arthropods: 10
Plants: 19
Fungi: 11
Mammals: 2
Some common threads developed, and will probably persist: Common species and introduced species are strongly represented. Among birds there are those that don't migrate, those that frequent birdfeeders, and a few species for which Boston is in their winter range (birds that summer far north), as well as the "big three" introduced species. The arthropods there were almost all species that live inside houses and other buildings. The plants were mostly introduced species, including many ornamental species and hybrids cultivated for city use. The fungi were species that can fruit in cold weather, and were almost all wood-digesters. The two mammals were the most common diurnal rodent (gray squirrel) and the most common period (house mouse). The regrettable paucity of mammals in general is due to the vast majority of urban mammals being nocturnal, as well as less-active in winter. We encountered norway rats, white-footed mice, muskrats, and striped skunks, but in all cases it was night, and the smaller rodents were much too fast to photograph.
Birds: 36
Arthropods: 10
Plants: 19
Fungi: 11
Mammals: 2
Some common threads developed, and will probably persist: Common species and introduced species are strongly represented. Among birds there are those that don't migrate, those that frequent birdfeeders, and a few species for which Boston is in their winter range (birds that summer far north), as well as the "big three" introduced species. The arthropods there were almost all species that live inside houses and other buildings. The plants were mostly introduced species, including many ornamental species and hybrids cultivated for city use. The fungi were species that can fruit in cold weather, and were almost all wood-digesters. The two mammals were the most common diurnal rodent (gray squirrel) and the most common period (house mouse). The regrettable paucity of mammals in general is due to the vast majority of urban mammals being nocturnal, as well as less-active in winter. We encountered norway rats, white-footed mice, muskrats, and striped skunks, but in all cases it was night, and the smaller rodents were much too fast to photograph.