Image by Kat Robinson Grieder, MMA's Finance Director
Dear Friends –
October’s weather was glorious! I hope you had a chance to get outside and go scalloping – our excursions have been so popular, and we love that we are part of making sure the tradition of family scalloping lives on. If you came to our Comet Party, you were treated to perfect skies and the inaugural presentation by our Interim Astronomer, Geoff Clayton, Ph.D. We appreciate his warm and witty style and look forward to working with him. Many of you came to our memorial gathering for Bob Kennedy. It was wonderful to share stories of his life, his contributions to the MMA, and his impact on the barn owls of Nantucket. He will be dearly remembered. Our annual Aquarium Release Day was just perfect; hundreds of happy families toting buckets and releasing our fish friends back into the ocean and learning about our harbor ecosystem. These connections to nature nurture our souls, build memories, and teach important lessons.
The seasons march on and soon it will be time for Thanksgiving and Stroll – please join us for a special Stargazing Night on November 27 and for our first “Deck the Wharf Bash” at Straight Wharf Fish – both will get you in the holiday spirit! In this month of gratitude, we are so thankful for YOU – our donors and supporters who make what we do possible – THANK YOU.
Nature is a wise teacher; her lessons of change, adaptation, patience, and humility are timeless. That wisdom is priceless and free; found in the skies, land, and seas around us. We hope you always find it when you need it most.
My best,
Joanna Roche
MMA Executive Director
Happening Today!
Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation
2024 Harbor Health Symposium
Eelgrass: Exploring the Meadows Under the Water
Jobson Sailing Center, GHYC at 96 Washington Street
Friday, November 1 | 3 - 4:30pm
The Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation is honored to have a panel of experts to share their knowledge and expertise on prioritizing the protection, restoration, and management of eelgrass populations, including Dr. Rich Blundell, MMA Scientist-In-Residence. Learn more here.
Free. Pre-registration is not required.
Want to learn more about the MMA Harbor Monitoring Project? Click here.
Programming Highlights
Sustainable Scalloping in November!
November 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 20, 23, and 24
Times and locations vary. Please check our calendar.
Join the MMA Aquarium Manager, Christina Norman, on a scalloping adventure! As we collect and observe bay scallops – we will learn all about their biology and the challenges they face. Waders, hand nets, waterproof gloves, and bathyscopes will be provided!
Pre-registration is required as this program meets off site. Registration closes 2 hours before the start time of the program. Personal transport to and from the meeting location is required to participate.
Explore Nantucket’s birdy landscapes and hidden nooks with local bird guide and Inquirer and Mirror columnist, Ginger Andrews. With so many varied habitats so close together, the Island is a great place to look and listen for birds. Our location out at sea makes for a fascinating mix of migratory species and year-round residents. Dry humor—always useful in a foggy environment—natural and human history, unexpected rarities, and other stories fill out the picture. You never know what may turn up!
Night-time has always had a mysterious appeal, which brings out a whole new cast of avian and other creatures. It requires patience, and a shift of consciousness from sight to hearing. Join the MMA's Field Ornithologist, Ginger Andrews, as we listen for calls of a variety of nocturnal animals and birds. We will watch for owls as they begin their nightly activity. While an owl sighting is not guaranteed, you will certainly be able to observe several fascinating nocturnal animal species.
Join MMA Executive Director, Joanna Roche, on a peaceful one hour walk under the light of the full Moon. Discover the legends and narratives of the past and present. Enjoy the tranquility of the quiet night sky and learn about our Moon's current themes and its important symbolism.
This November's full Moon happens to be called the Beaver Moon, as it is customary for beavers to prepare for winter during this time. It will also be a so-called "supermoon," which is caused when the full Moon is slightly closer to the Earth in its monthly orbit around our planet.
Image of the C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) comet captured under a full moon by Geoffrey Clayton, MMA Interim Astronomy Director, at a Loines Observatory Open Night in October.
Special Thanksgiving Eve Stargazing Open Night
Loines Observatory. 59 Milk Street, Ext.
Wednesday, November 27 | 7 - 8pm
Join the MMA for a special “Thanksgiving Edition of Stargazing.” Our astronomers will lead an impressive tour of Nantucket’s night sky and guide you in viewing astronomical objects through our historic 8-inch Alvan Clark refractor and our modern 24-inch research telescope. Get a chance to view the Moon, planets, star clusters, nebulae, and even other galaxies!
Join our astronomers for an impressive tour of Nantucket’s night sky. Get a chance to view the moon, planets, stars, nebulae, and even distant galaxies through the MMA’s telescopes! Learn more about the constellations, phases of the moon, the planets, and why eclipses happen. This stargazing program is designed to be engaging and interactive for all ages but with a focus on young adults and students of K-12 grades.
This community-centered program provides an opportunity for students, educators, and families of Nantucket Island to visit the Loines Observatory and learn more about the night sky.
The Maria Mitchell Association is excited to celebrate Stroll's 50th Anniversary with you at our inaugural “Deck the Wharf Bash” Saturday, December 7, 2024, from 7-10pm, at Straight Wharf Fish, 4 Harbor Square.
Enjoy champagne, caviar, burgers, and more! Your ticket includes delicious food and wine, plus stargazing on the deck, a festive photobooth, cosmic caroling, a chance to win cool prizes, and special visits from 'Sconset Santa and Gigi the Holiday Fairy.
Tickets selling fast! This fabulous fundraiser supports our year-round programming.
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews
Barn Owl Box showing it's spooky Halloween spirit!
Keep Calm and Bird On November!
by Ginger Andrews
The empty nest: spooky! Barn Owls are perhaps the original spooks, floating ghost-like on silent wings, but screeching with blood-curdling voices. An empty nest in November is not unexpected; when the young have flown and the weather is still so mild, who in their right senses would want to stay inside? But still, we have questions.
Maria Mitchell Association volunteers checked seventy-two owl boxes in September. Missing Bob Kennedy, we elected to do a simple visual check of each box. We encountered seven adults, saw 12 or 13 young ranging in age from just hatching to about four weeks old, and counted 40 eggs.
Two adults were presumed to be roosting males. Two boxes with young did not contain an adult; but this is not unexpected with well-grown young.
As Bob used to say, “Would you stay in a hotel room with four kids?”
Five boxes had unattended eggs, which is a bit concerning as Barn Owls are said to begin incubation as soon as the first egg is laid.
If you have not done the math yet, this means that 58 boxes had been used by squirrels or were empty as the Marie Celeste. Many had signs of use: pellets of varying freshness. Five boxes with eggs or recently hatched young also contained an adult, presumably an incubating or brooding female. Interestingly, all five are west of town. So we wonder: What’s up with the mice on the east end?
That something is going on was confirmed by tick researcher Dr. Sam Telford at the “Mice-Against-Ticks” presentation we attended last week. Mice are down on the east side, and have been notably scarcer in Polpis for at least ten years. This might surprise home-owners who have had rodent problems. Judging from the number of poison boxes we see, there ought to be a lot of them.
We suspect rodenticides are affecting owls, the secondary consumers of poisoned mice—it’s probably easier to catch the one that’s not feeling so well. Can we prove it? We know at least one poisoned Owl was rescued before it expired, and survived thanks to months of treatment at Cape Wildcare. But it is not easy to find the dead, not to mention when their organs are fresh enough for a necropsy. So wildlife impact is hard to prove. But it is growing. Owls are more effective hunters than most traps. But can we convince home owners to ask professional exterminators for integrated pest management? Let’s hope so.
MMA News and Updates
“The Nature of Nantucket” and “The Star Report”
Check out our own podcast, "The Nature of Nantucket," brought to you by 97.7 ACKFM. This program airs on 97.7 every Sunday at 7:20am. You can listen to full episodes on Apple or Spotify.
On the October 24 episode of “The Nature of Nantucket,” host Joanna Roche sat down with U.S. Navy officer Kari Yakubisin. As the Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Nantucket, CDR Yakubisin shares her experiences leading the crew of the Navy's newest combat ship. The U.S. Navy will commission the U.S.S. Nantucket (LCS 27), a Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, November 16, 2024, at Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts. The naming of LCS 27 honors the rich heritage of the people of Nantucket and the maritime legacy that the island represents. In this episode, CDR Yakubisin also offers insights into her journey as a female leader in the Navy and the challenges and triumphs that come with commanding such a significant vessel.
Don't forget to check out our weekly "Star Report," written and presented by the MMA Astronomy Department.
Maria Mitchell's Attic
Learn more about Maria Mitchell and the MMA with "Maria Mitchell's Attic," a blog written on a weekly basis by MMA Deputy Director and Curator, Jascin Leonardo Finger.
In the most recent blog, “Interior ConservationWork Has Begun,” Jascin Leonardo Finger writes about the new grant from the Community Preservation Act (CPA), that has allowed the MMA to move to conserving the interior and to the historic components of the Vestal Street Observatory. A very exciting time!
Gift giving season is upon us! Stop by the gift shop at “Hinch” at 7 Milk Street to view our wonderful selection of nature-based gifts, MMA apparel, and so much more! There's something for everyone! Or shop online!
The Maria Mitchell Association creates 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.
